I still like to see this one when it comes around.
ATTN: MR BARSS!!
I DO agree with almost all of this, so please... have a cup.
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.
As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats,
booster seats, seat belts or air bags.
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 O.K.
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, 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, 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!
These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers problem
solvers and inventors pr oblem 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 ki ds, 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.
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, tornados, 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?"
For those that prefer to think that God is not watching over us...go
ahead and delete this.
For the rest of us...pass this on.
On Aug 13, 11:49=A0am, Kevin <[email protected]> wrote:
> > 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. =A0And, we were O.K.
>
> So true! =A0That describes my childhood perfectly (in Detroit, of all
> places). =A0As a parent of young children, I am stunned at the
> fearfulness of other parents. The media is partially to blame, but so
> are the many parents who do not understand risk. =A0Want to protect your
> kids from the greatest threat to their health? =A0Then turn off the TV
> and make them play outside so they stay fit!
>
> Kevin
Exactly. And how do you teach a kid to evaluate risk? By playing WITH
them. If he wants to go down that hill in a soap box, don't tell him
not to, but help him build brakes. And if daughter wants to play
volleyball hardcore, and you have just spent $ 5000 on an
orthodontist, make her wear a mouth guard, don't tell her not to play.
I do, however, think it makes perfect sense for a kid to wear a helmet
when out in traffic on a bike. That's just common sense.
Unfortunately, common sense is not common.... I think it was Voltaire
who said that....
> 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 O.K.
>
So true! That describes my childhood perfectly (in Detroit, of all
places). As a parent of young children, I am stunned at the
fearfulness of other parents. The media is partially to blame, but so
are the many parents who do not understand risk. Want to protect your
kids from the greatest threat to their health? Then turn off the TV
and make them play outside so they stay fit!
Kevin
On Aug 14, 12:02 am, "Rick Samuel" <[email protected]>
wrote:
> > I recently returned from trip to a small town in NorthEast Ohio, where the
> > local newspaper was reporting on drug related problems in the area.
>
> > It is a problem that is invading the entire country, not just the major
> > cities.
>
> > Lew
>
> This sure is OT.
> But till the profit motive is taken out of drugs, they WILL NOT go away.
That profit motive is on two sides: empire building government
employees are as bad, IMO, as the drug thugs they presumably chase.
"Scott Lurndal" wrote:
> And they've been in LA for far more than 5-10 years. Sure, avoid
> east LA and compton, but the other side of the coin are places like
> Sierra Madre; I'd have no problems letting my children run free
> there.
There is a major difference between the street gang of old and those
of today.
That difference is drugs.
When it comes to drug money and it's effects on modern society, it is
scary.
I'm a long way from Lynwood and/or Compton, but gang/drug violence
exxits within a couple of miles of the old time and stable
neighborhood.
I recently returned from trip to a small town in NorthEast Ohio, where
the local newspaper was reporting on drug related problems in the
area.
It is a problem that is invading the entire country, not just the
major cities.
Lew
"Lew Hodgett" <[email protected]> writes:
>
>"Kevin" wrote:
>
>> So true! That describes my childhood perfectly (in Detroit, of all
>> places). As a parent of young children, I am stunned at the
>> fearfulness of other parents. The media is partially to blame, but
>> so
>> are the many parents who do not understand risk. Want to protect
>> your
>> kids from the greatest threat to their health? Then turn off the TV
>> and make them play outside so they stay fit!
>
>Having spent a few years calling on the automotives in Detroit, can
>certainly relate to you Mo-Town comments; however, there are some
>major changes on the streets of US cities in the last 5-10 years.
>
>They are called GANGS.
And they've been in LA for far more than 5-10 years. Sure, avoid
east LA and compton, but the other side of the coin are places like
Sierra Madre; I'd have no problems letting my children run free there.
scott
Lew Hodgett <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> "Scott Lurndal" wrote:
>
>
>> And they've been in LA for far more than 5-10 years. Sure, avoid
>> east LA and compton, but the other side of the coin are places like
>> Sierra Madre; I'd have no problems letting my children run free
>> there.
>
> There is a major difference between the street gang of old and those
> of today.
>
> That difference is drugs.
>
> When it comes to drug money and it's effects on modern society, it is
> scary.
>
> I'm a long way from Lynwood and/or Compton, but gang/drug violence
> exxits within a couple of miles of the old time and stable
> neighborhood.
>
> I recently returned from trip to a small town in NorthEast Ohio, where
> the local newspaper was reporting on drug related problems in the
> area.
>
> It is a problem that is invading the entire country, not just the
> major cities.
I'm not sure if I agree.
A quarter century ago, a small town in Alberta was in the throes of
a cocaine war. As a teenager, I remember reading Run Baby Run, which
took place around 1958 in New York. "Gangs of New York" was more accurate
than not in its portrayal of Five Points in the mid-19th century.
Yeah, crack and crystal are causing problems--They're BAD drugs, and
recidivism rates for crystal meth are...terrible. I've had a bottle
of mouthwash chucked at me as I rode my bike to work.
But the real problem, in my mind, is twofold: The media LOVES reporting
on this stuff, because it makes money. One could argue that they also
are happy to have their consumers paranoid and locked up at home, watching
TV and cowering in fear.
The other problem is that the gangs have degenerated into groups of
whiny racist teenage thugs with guns. Gangs run like businesses (i.e. the
Mafia families in the US and Italy, the RBN in Russia, etc.) are better
at laying below the public eye. These gangs lead to more money (and more
drugs) but less street violence.
30 years from now, my son will be looking back at these days as his golden
childhood, and be terribly worried about the state of the world. Odds are,
it won't be _much_ worse than it is now.
Colin
Lew Hodgett wrote:
> "Kevin" wrote:
>
>> So true! That describes my childhood perfectly (in Detroit, of all
>> places). As a parent of young children, I am stunned at the
>> fearfulness of other parents. The media is partially to blame, but
>> so
>> are the many parents who do not understand risk. Want to protect
>> your
>> kids from the greatest threat to their health? Then turn off the
>> TV
>> and make them play outside so they stay fit!
>
> Having spent a few years calling on the automotives in Detroit, can
> certainly relate to you Mo-Town comments; however, there are some
> major changes on the streets of US cities in the last 5-10 years.
>
> They are called GANGS.
>
> Here in L/A, there have been four (4) gang related murders of young
> people, in the last 24 hours.
>
> At least one involved a 16 year old boy, not a gang member, sitting
> on
> a fence.
>
> Gang members walked up, asked where he lived, then opened fire when
> he
> didn't answer quickly enough.
>
> Before you send your kids outside, you need to take the streets back
> from the gangs first.
Or move out of the People's Republic and back into the United States.
--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)
> I recently returned from trip to a small town in NorthEast Ohio, where the
> local newspaper was reporting on drug related problems in the area.
>
> It is a problem that is invading the entire country, not just the major
> cities.
>
> Lew
This sure is OT.
But till the profit motive is taken out of drugs, they WILL NOT go away.
"Kevin" wrote:
> So true! That describes my childhood perfectly (in Detroit, of all
> places). As a parent of young children, I am stunned at the
> fearfulness of other parents. The media is partially to blame, but
> so
> are the many parents who do not understand risk. Want to protect
> your
> kids from the greatest threat to their health? Then turn off the TV
> and make them play outside so they stay fit!
Having spent a few years calling on the automotives in Detroit, can
certainly relate to you Mo-Town comments; however, there are some
major changes on the streets of US cities in the last 5-10 years.
They are called GANGS.
Here in L/A, there have been four (4) gang related murders of young
people, in the last 24 hours.
At least one involved a 16 year old boy, not a gang member, sitting on
a fence.
Gang members walked up, asked where he lived, then opened fire when he
didn't answer quickly enough.
Before you send your kids outside, you need to take the streets back
from the gangs first.
Lew