Thoughts from Crow Cottage (My Main Blog.)
crowbelle's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Good Old Days Those were the "Good Old Days" According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's or even the early 80's, probably shouldn't have survived. Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paint. We had no child-proof lids or locks on medicine bottles, doors, or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets... not to mention the risks we took hitchhiking! As children, we would ride in cars with no 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. Horrors! We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing. We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one actually died from this. We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then rode 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 would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the street lights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. No cell phones. Unthinkable! We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surround sound, personal cell phones, personal computers, or Internet chat rooms. We had friends! We went outside and found them. We played dodge ball, and sometimes, the ball would really hurt. We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits from these accidents They were accidents. No one was to blame but us. Remember accidents? We had fights and punched each other and got black and blue and learned to get over it. We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put anyone's eye out. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house, knocked on the door, 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. Some students weren't as smart as others, so they failed a grade and were held back to repeat the same grade. Horrors! Tests were not adjusted for any reason. Our actions were our own - consequences were expected. The idea of parents bailing us out if we got in trouble in school or broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the school or the law. Imagine that? Those generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers, and inventors, ever! We had freedom, failure, success, and responsibility --- and we learned how to deal with life. And if you're one of them, congratulations! I am one of these people, and though I did not write the above myself, when I read it I just wanted to share it with you. The "good old days" were good for all those reasons above... we were out in the world living life as kids, getting into trouble, and getting out of it again... asking if our friends could "come out to play" and then staying out until we heard our Moms screaming out the front door "Beckyyyyyy! Chuckyyyyyy! Time for Suuuuuuuuuuuper!" We'd keep playing knowing she would yell one more time after a few minutes, and finally we'd come in, hands frozen, our cheeks red and rosy from all the playing we'd been doing. I never hear groups of kids outside now playing happily...the world is different now...everyone has their little niche, and is afraid to mingle with others for fear of catching something, offending someone, or being on the wrong side of an opinion. It's sad... the "good old days" seem to have come and gone for good! Cheers. Bex 8:32 am - 21 February 2004 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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