G'ma sent me this, pretty funny! Too lazy to re-format.

Those Born 1920-1979 READ TO THE BOTTOM FOR QUOTE OF THE MONTH BY JAY LENO. IF YOU DON'T READ ANYTHING ELSE---VERY WELL STATED .

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!! First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes. Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking. As infants &children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat. We drank Water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NOONE actually died from this. We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-aid made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because, WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING! We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K. We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem. We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computer! s, no Internet or chat rooms....... WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them! We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever! The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL! If YOU are one of them, CONGRATULATIONS! You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good . While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were. Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!

Oh I cut this out, might as well finish the whole thing..

The quote of the month is by Jay Leno: "With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, floodi ng, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"

This is all very true. Just amazing how we have changed over the years.

Chris

Ha ha. So true. Life was so different back then. I tend to think that it was a healthier environment for kids to grow up in. We were not so protected. We were able to have our little adventures, dreams, and private kid culture. Our lives were less structured and we did spend more time playing outdoors. Being able to get away from adults was real nice; it was also real nice knowing that an adult (usually someone's mum) was available if you needed one. I believe that this freedom allowed us to develop richer interior lives, richer imaginations. Today's kids seem to be all about shopping at the mall.

I remember that we would go all over the place on Halloween --without our parents. One couple, who lived a mile or two from us, used to cook hotdogs and stuff in their garage and no one ever worried about them poisoning the kids. We would come home with grocery sacks full of candy and stuff. We would even get popcorn balls and cupcakes! Now, no kid goes trick or treating without a watchful parent and a lot of them have to go to Halloween carnivals so the parents can be sure they are safe. I often wonder when people started thinking life is safe. It isn't. None of us are getting out of this alive.