Those Were the Days

First, we must give credit to a Common Sense Citizen Commentator who in turn gives credit to My Random Blog for this insightful observation of what I personally enjoyed as a child. It should serve as a reminder of how much freedom has been lost. Read the piece and when you get to the end, I shall have some commentary.

“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-base paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps, not helmets on our heads.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.

Riding in the back of a pick- up truck 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 no one actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And, we weren't overweight. WHY? Because we were always outside playing...that's why!

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 OKAY.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride them 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 Play stations, Nintendo's and X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no 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 would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping pong paddles, or just a bare hand and no one would call child services to report abuse.

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 poke 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.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Born in ’32, I can vividly remember each and every situation mentioned in the above. I would add a couple of things which the author neglected.

If you dropped a cookie on the ground, kitchen floor, or the dog dish, you picked it up and ate it.

The kid’s 6th birthdays were noted with their own .22 cal., single shot, bolt action rifle. Strangely, none turned into serial killers.

The threat of physical discipline was an ever present danger in a classroom. No diversity training, anger management, or “time outs,” just a whack on the wrist or the butt.

Jealousy was rampant because the Catholic kids got out early on Friday for religious instruction. Even worse, we never got meat on Fridays even though we were Methodist.

The traditional cure for tears was a quick swipe of the eye with the corner of an apron.

Even though born in the Great Depression, we had little appreciation of the event.

“Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end.” But they have !!


In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon