Jay Leno Quote

[paula1961]

Very well stated, Mr. Leno.


TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE

1930's, 40's, 50's, 60'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, 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 OKAY.

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


We did not have Play stations, 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 would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping pong paddles,
or just a bare hand and no one would call child services to report

abuse.


We ate worm 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

poke 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 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.


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.

[judy]

This is so good! I totally agree with it. We grew up as children! We let our parents worry about all of this stuff, and most of them didn't worry at all, not because they didn't care, but because they didn't know to worry about us touching dirt, thank God!

Of course, the world was a different place. We could play outside. People weren't abducting children, and there was always a neighbor, a grandmother, or an aunt who might see what we were up to. School was a place to learn, not to do well on state tests. There were less dangerous viruses at that time. We also were raised with values, something that is sorely missing these days. Another kid would never steal your jacket or sneakers!

We also did not mind our parents' business. I don't remember commenting on, or even caring about, what kind of car my parents bought, where we should live, or even what was for dinner. In fact, my philosophy was less is best. I found that the less said to my parents, the less chance I had of getting in trouble. They always found something in my story that I wasn't supposed to be doing!
And...the teacher was always right!

Helicopter parenting is just a distraction for people who probably have nothing better to do!

[Janet]

I just passed this on to my son. It is so true and I can remember all of it so well. I'm 55 and wow....things sure changed and fast, also NOT for the better.

I do have to admit.....as I read, I was remembering.....thank you Paula...what a great trip down memory lane.

[DianaB]

I agree. We have let the world scare us into thinkint that the only safe place for a child is in the house. How sad for the child......there are such wonderful things outside to do and discover!!! What memories this brings of climbing trees.......actually high enough that we could have really been hurt if we had fallen.......playing in the deep ditch when it rained.......and running through every part of the neighborhood with all of the other kids who lived close by!!! The great thing is that we lived through all of that and all of those germs that we attracted!!!!