posted 01-14-2003 09:24 AM         

Albert

I can not believe we did it ! How have we survived?

Were you a kid in 40's 50's 60's or even the 70's ?.
Looking back, it is hard to believe we made it, hard to believe we are still alive.

As kids, remember when we used to travel in cars NOT wearing seat belts. Cars had no air bags. Siting in the cars back seat in a hot summer day used to be a real special experience.

Our beds used to be covered with heaps of happy colours, lead based. There were no
special security caps on medicine bottles, power points or doors and we used to ride our bikes with no helmets on.

Remember when we used to drink water right from the garden hose, not from the bottle ?.

Do you remember how we used to spend hours building timber carts ? how we used to roll down the hill only to discover that we had no brakes. How we installed
hand made brakes only after hitting the bushes ten or more times ?.

Remember when we used to leave home early in the morning and come back only after the street lights have turned on. No one could contact us, we had no mobile phone....how unthinkable.

Remember when we used to fall and brake a bone or two, how we used to fight and break a tooth or two, with no lawsuits to follow. They were all just accidents, no one to blame, only ourselves. Remember ? accidents ? !!. And we got over it.

We used to eat cakes, bread and butter and drink only sugar concentrated drinks ? no one ever got overweight. Remember how we were always playing outside?.

Remember when we used to share a bottle of drink and no one got sick or died from it ?.

Remember how we had no computer or video games, we had no 500 TV channels, we had no video movies, no PCs, no mobile phones or internet chats. WE HAD FRIENDS !. We used to get outside and find them. We used to ride a bicycle together with them. We used to go to their home, ring the door bell or just knock and sit for hours and talk with them.
Imagine, without asking for our parents permission, us, out there alone in the "cruel" "cold world" with no one to watch over us. How did we do it ?

Remember how we used to invent games? With sticks and tennis balls.
Remember how we used to bet about "who is capable of eating a worm"?, and we did it although our parents warned us not to, remember how they used to tell us that the worms will stay in our stomach forever?. The worms did not stay in our stomach forever!.

Remember how we all tried to get into the baseball and basketball team and not all made it?. Those who did not make it just got over it.
Remember when not all students were smart and some stayed in the same grade for another year?. Tests were never custom designed no matter what the reason is.

Our deeds were OUR DEEDS, we knew how to live with them and bear the consequences. There was no one for us to hide behind. To think that our parents would rescue us if we got in troubles with the law was unheard of. Can you imagine? Our parents actually heed and were very supportive of the laws.

This generation has produced some of the greatest risk taking persons, problem solvers and inventors. The last 50 years has brought to the world an explosion of scientific breakthroughs, new opinions and theories.

We used to have REAL freedom of movement and ability to act, we had failures and success and RESPONSIBILITY. And we knew how to get over them all, gently but SURELY !.

Pass this to those who were not so lucky to grow up as KIDS, like we did before lawyers and governments started taking control of our lives...telling us that it is only for our own good.

posted 01-16-2003 03:39 AM         

Always a pleasure to read your replies.

I sure did!...i look at what kids are busy with these days and can’t stop
thinking of just how much they are missing. They wouldn’t have a clue.
We live In a plastic kind of controlled society/environment and I keep asking
myself...well is it better to the days when we used to be kids?...can’t say that
it is. Can’t say that it is getting better. The exact opposite...

posted 01-16-2003 04:11 AM         

We used to have a dog in the neighbourhood (28 years ago). This dog did not belong to anyone. He was just kind of the neighbourhood dog. Everyone used to feed him and play with him etc. He never received any injections, was never de-sexed, in his all life time he never visited any vet and was eating just about anything. Yes, cocked chicken included. He died at 14 years of age and was very healthy throughout his all life. Unknown cross breed…..bit bigger then a poodle…kind of a terrier. Liked chasing cats up the tree

posted 01-16-2003 09:55 PM         

Which reminds me of a similar story. I was about 12, a very very curios kid. Liked to investigate just about anything and find out how things work from the inside out.

My parents were out one day. My dad had a big clock on the wall, his pride and joy.
I just had to find out how this thing works. What makes the ding dong sound inside.
So there I am with a big screwdriver starting to take the thing apart and investigate.
I suddenly hear my parents car getting into the driveway and I quickly try to put the clock together. I was in such a rush and I’ve put the clock dial up side down (12 become 6 and six become 12) and I quickly hang the thing back on the wall.

You should have seen my fathers face when he looked at the clock wondering why
there was no ding dong at 9 o’clock. HEY THE DIAL IS UP SIDE DOWN. What the
hell happened here ?. Sorry dad I tried to fix it cause the ding dong was off bit.
My mum was laughing so hard. And dad joined us a minute later. He then took the thing and we both started to put the clock together while he goes to lengths explaining me how it all works.