Times have been so stressful lately with the economy, the elections, and just trying to live...I thought I would share this email I received from a friend. Having been born in the 40's , it started my day with a chuckle. It was good to laugh out loud sitting all by myself.

ENJOY...let me know if you smile.

_________________________

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 bikes, we had baseball caps not helmets on our heads. As infants and 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 OK.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and them 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 didn't have Playstations, 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 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, built forts in the woods, and chased the bull in the field next to us. We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, not one eye got put out!

Little league had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that?

We learned to do our chores and get our studies done before we could play. We learned to tell the truth and we learned there were consequences for disobeying our parents. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
These 40 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever to be seen.

As children and young adults we experienced freedom, failure, success and responsibility...and we learned how to deal with it all. It is this knowledge that will get us through the tough times ahead of us.

So, I ask: I had never thought about it much...But didn't we have the most amazing childhood? How did we ever make it with out government regulations?

As I wrote this, I again began to smile and chuckle to myself. Isn't it amazing that we are still alive and kicking. I think children today are many times missing the opportunity to use their imaginations...to make something out of nothing. They have so much...I'm just not certain it's wise?

Sincerely,
Marsha


Links:
Website ...Marsha Robinett Fine Art
The Extraordinary Pencil...blogspot
My Squidoo ...Drawing Techniques


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