YOUR CONTRIBUTION
THOSE WERE THE DAYS
By
Kathy Scott (Nee Perry)
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CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL MY FRIENDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE
1930's 1940's, 50's, 60's and early 70'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 coloured
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 Play stations, 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!
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!
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 our lives
for our own good.
And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how
brave their parents were.
PS
-The big type is because your eyes are not too good at your age anymore
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