According to today's regulators and bureaucrats,
> those of us who
> were kids in the 60's, 70's and early 80's
> probably shouldn't have
> survived, because our baby cots were covered with
> brightly coloured
> lead-based paint which was promptly chewed and
> licked. We had no
> childproof lids on medicine bottles, or latches
> on doors or cabinets
> and it was fine to play with pans.
>
> When we rode our bikes, we wore no helmets, just
> thongs and
> fluorescent 'spokey dokey's'on our wheels. As
> children, we would
> ride in cars with no seat belts or airbags -
> riding in the passenger
> seat was a treat.
>
> We drank water from the garden hose and not from
> a bottle and it
> tasted the same.
>
> We ate chips, bread and butter pudding and drank
> fizzy pop with
> sugar in it, but we were never overweight because
> we were always
> outside playing.
>
> We shared one drink with four friends, from one
> bottle or can and no-
> one actually died from this.
>
> We would spend hours building go-carts out of
> scraps and then went
> top speed down the hill, only to find out we
> forgot the brakes.
> After running into stinging nettles a few times,
> we learned to solve
> the problem.
>
> We would leave home in the morning and could play
> all day, as long
> as we were back before it got dark. No one was
> able to reach us and
> no one minded.
>
> We did not have Play stations or X-Boxes, no
> video games at all. No
> 99 channels on TV, no videotape movies, no
> surround sound, no mobile
> phones, no personal computers, and no Internet
> chat rooms. We had
> friends we went outside and found them.
>
> We played elastics and street rounders, and
> sometimes that ball
> really hurt.
>
> We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones but
> there were no law
> suits.
>
> We had full on fist fights but no prosecution
> followed from other
> parents.
>
> We played knock-and-run and were actually afraid
> of the owners
> catching us.
>
> We walked to friend's homes.
>
> We also, believe it or not, WALKED to school; we
> didn't rely on
> mummy or daddy to drive us to school, which was
> just round the
> corner.
>
> We made up games with sticks and tennis balls.
>
> We rode bikes in packs of 7 and wore our coats by
> only the hood.
>
> The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a
> law unheard of.
> They actually sided with the law.
>
> This generation has produced some of the best
> risk-takers and
> 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.
>
> And you're one of them. Congratulations!
>
> Pass this on to others who have had the luck to
> grow as real kids,
> before lawyers and government regulated our
> lives, for our own good.
>
> For those of you who aren't old enough thought
> you might like to
> read about us.
>
> However the following my friends, is surprisingly frightening......and
> it might also put a smile on your face:
>
> The majority of students in universities today
> were born in
> 1983........They are called youth.
>
> They have never heard of We are the World, We are
> the children, and
> the Uptown Girl they know is by Westlife not
> Billy Joel.
>
> They have never heard of Rick Astley, Bananarama,
> Nena or Belinda
> Carlisle.
>
> For them, there has always been only one Germany
> and one Vietnam.
>
> AIDS has existed since they were born.
>
> CD's have existed since they were born.
>
> Michael Jackson has always been white.
>
> To them John Travolta has always been round in
> shape and they can't
> imagine how this fat guy could be a god of dance.
>
> They believe that Charlie's Angels and Mission
> Impossible are Films
> from last year.
>
> They can never imagine life before computers.
>
> They'll never have pretended to be the A Team,
> the Red Hand Gang or
> the Famous Five.
>
> They can't believe black and white television
> ever existed and don't
> even know how to switch on a TV without a remote
> control.
>
> And they will never understand how we could leave
> the house without
> a mobile phone.
>
> Now let's check if we're getting old...
>
> 1. You understand what was written above and you
> smile.
>
> 2. You need to sleep more, usually until the
> afternoon, after a
> night out.
>
> 3. Your friends are getting married/already
> married or in some cases
> your children are getting married.
>
> 4. You are always surprised to see small children
> playing
> comfortably with computers.
>
> 5. When you see teenagers with mobile phones, you
> shake your head.
>
> 6. You meet your friends from time to time,
> talking about the good
> old days, repeating again all the funny things
> you have experienced
> together.
>
> 7. Having read this article, you are thinking of
> forwarding it to some
> other friends because you think they will like it
> too...
>
> Yes, we're getting older!!!!