Thursday 18 March 2010

A Little bit of Nonsense That Made Me Smile

I WAS BRUNG UP PROPER !!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL MY FRIENDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE

1940's, 50's and early 60's



First, we survived being born to mothers who drank while they carried us
 and lived in houses made of asbestos
took aspirin, ate blue cheese, raw egg products,
loads of bacon and processed meat, tuna from a can,
and didn't get tested  while they carried us
and lived in houses made of asbestos. They 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 Playstations, 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.

4 comments:

accidental carer said...

This is so good.
We are told we are making progress by "those" above; but what do they mean really?

I think we were happy enough back then; we didn't covet anyones life ; we didn't strive to be rich just content, most of us were loved in an old fashioned way with hugs and kisses and being wrapped in our grandmothers arms.

Now there is a wonderful memory for me .

Thanks darlin I can start my day now. Love you .

Hope you have a wonderful weekend and wish I could spend it with you but will see you very soon.
Love you more than words xxxxxxxxxx

Christine said...

man, it's come here to America...no bama and the nanny state are going to regulate us into submission.
Well, we are fighting back as hard as we can. Say a little prayer for us.

Ellen said...

I love your post! And everything you mentioned is oh, so true. I am happy to have grown up when I did! We were so innocent and enjoyed being active, creative children who showed respect to adults, came home when the street lights went on and went to bed early on school nights. Our parents had fewer worries than today's parents.
Thanks, Sheilagh, for sharing...

Anonymous said...

Except for the part about pregnant women drinking alcohol (I've seen fetal alcohol syndrome up close--a very high price to pay for a little buzz.), this post made me chuckle and remember. I was born in 1952.

Deb