Congratulations to all my friends who were born in the 40's, 50's, 60's

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us and lived in houses made of asbestos..


They took aspirin, ate blue cheese, raw egg products, loads of bacon and processed meat, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes or cervical cancer.


Then after that trauma, our baby cots 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 or shoes, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.


As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.


We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.


Take away food was limited to fish and chips, no pizza shops, McDonalds, KFC, Subway or Nandos.


Even though all the shops closed at 6.00pm and didn't open on the weekends, somehow we didn't starve to death!


We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.


We could collect old drink bottles and cash them in at the corner store and buy Toffees, Gobstoppers, Bubble Gum and some bangers to blow up frogs with.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soft drinks 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 O.K.


We would spend hours building our go-carts out of old prams and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. We built tree houses and dens and played in river beds with matchbox cars.


We did not have Playstations, Nintendo Wii, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 999 channels on SKY,
no video/dvd films,
no mobile 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.

Only girls had pierced ears!

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

You could only buy Easter Eggs and Hot Cross Buns at Easter time...

We were given air Guns and catapults for our 10th birthdays,

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!

Mum didn't have to go to work to help Dad make ends meet!

FOOTBALL, RUGBY and CRICKET had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! Getting into the team was based on
MERIT

Our teachers used to hit us with canes and gym shoes and bully's always ruled the playground at school.


The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of.
They actually sided with the law!



Our parents didn't invent stupid names for their kids like 'Kiora' and 'Blade' and 'Ridge' and 'Vanilla'

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO
DEAL WITH IT ALL!

And YOU are one of them!
CONGRATULATIONS!



Mod edit: Fixed all caps title.

[edit on 6/6/2010 by AshleyD]

reply to post by DCDAVECLARKE


What a wonderful thread, life sounds soooooo simple and beautiful in those times

Where did it all go wrong ??
How did we end up in this destructive, techno dependent, materialistic nightmare ??

Oh, if only you could turn back the clock baby and let the whole world experience the magic you have described

I HATE the complexity and stress of present day life, it sucks !!
So have a flag for sharin such sweet, nostalgic memories with us all

peace n luv

Well thats the way I was brought up! and it did me no harm

[edit on 4-6-2010 by DCDAVECLARKE]

Originally posted by uk today


Where did it all go wrong ??
How did we end up in this destructive, techno dependent, materialistic nightmare ??

Nightmare? Urban, contemporary paradise if you ask me.

In the future people will reminisce about the pre chip implant days.

It's amazing that anybody survived.

Like, how did people survive car rides before there were seatbelts? It boggles the mind.

reply to post by TheComte


There were less Car's on the road, People were more caring so there was less aggression hanging around!

reply to post by DCDAVECLARKE


Reeaally? Even babies without car seats? It must have been a bloodbath.

It doesn't matter anymore anyway. With fluoride in the water it's only a matter of months before society collapses. And it will all be fluoride's fault!

Originally posted by TheComte
reply to post by DCDAVECLARKE

 

Reeaally? Even babies without car seats? It must have been a bloodbath.

It doesn't matter anymore anyway. With fluoride in the water it's only a matter of months before society collapses. And it will all be fluoride's fault!

Bloodbath my Arse! People drove there Cars with respect for others on the Road, no Tailgating like today

reply to post by DCDAVECLARKE


I love this. Funny and true - but much of it makes me want to ask: for crying out loud - what have we done?

:-)

my favorites:

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 old prams and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. We built tree houses and dens and played in river beds with matchbox cars.

I think I'll go outside and play today

no one will be able to reach me - but I will be OK

:-)


edit to add: some of those changes were probably for the best - but I like the part about us surviving

[edit on 6/5/2010 by Spiramirabilis]

reply to post by whaaa

In the future people will reminisce about the pre chip implant days.

I already miss those days

Well I was born in the 70's and 99% of that list applies to me too.

We have become such a safety conscious and pathetic bunch of people.
We rely on technology for everything and wouldn't know how to write a letter if we were paid to.

Man... I miss those days..... just "Getting on with it" and "making do" with what we had.


I dread to think where we are heading.


On the other hand, some things are better now.... Healthcare/medical treatment....er.....um....... there must be some things, although I can't think of any

[edit on 5/6/10 by blupblup]

Heck, i was born in the late '80's and most of that applies tome.
Add to it I was put to work before my 10th birthday.

reply to post by RuneSpider

That means 1998ish thats only yesterday!

I was a child in the 70's and it was pretty much like that...although we did eventually have the Atari 2600 and the Intellivision video game systems. But, we still went out and played with friends, stayed out till dark, and did all of that.

"They took aspirin, ate blue cheese, raw egg products, loads of bacon and processed meat, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes or cervical cancer."

What's wrong with bleu cheese. I love it. It's my favorite with salads.

I'm a survivor and would love to go back to those days along as I could take my puter with me