To Those of You Born 1930 - 1979

I have a feeling this was written by a male, so I'll add my female perspective on some things in italics.

At the end is a quote of the month by Jay Leno. If you don't read anything else, please read what he said. Very well stated, Mr. Leno.

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. Us girls didn't wear caps, we just rode.

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. Thanks Dad and Grandpa.

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. Although the garden hose tasted pretty gross. I'd just go inside and get a drink of water from the facet in a glass.

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. I had to be within shouting distance for my mom to call us back to the house.

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 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. I think us girls played house and even made forts.

We did not 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. I do remember times of being bored and trying to think of something to do. I would usually go pest my brother at this point.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. I never at worms or dirt, just played in it. 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. I did get a BB gun and loved it. Was a pretty good shot!

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. No Little League for girls back then. I guess we just joined the Girl Scouts.

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 .

While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave and lucky their parents were. My daughter still wouldn't get it.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it ?

~ The quote of the month is by Jay Leno:

"With hurricanes, tornadoes, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"