TO ALL THE  KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930s '40s, '50s, '60s and '70s !!

 First,  we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they
 carried us.
 

 They  took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't
 get tested for diabetes.
 

Then  after that trauma, our baby cribs were 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 children, we would ride in cars with no 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 NO ONE
 actually died from this.
 

 We  ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter, and drank soda pop with
 sugar  in it, 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 okay.

 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, Nintendos, X-boxes, no video games at
 all, no  99 channels on cable, no video-tape movies, no surround sound, no
 cell  phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet 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!

 This generation has 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!

 And 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 our lives for our
 "own" good  And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how
 brave their parents were.