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From: Gail Brumfitt <>
Subject: Re: [ENG-MERSEYSIDE] Thought for the day
Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2008 21:25:24 +1100


Well said Gordon

If only things were as simple today as they used to be. Us kids of the 1930's - 1970's used to have lives rather than possessions.

Regards
Gail


> Gordon Evans <> wrote:
>
> Congratulations to all my friends who were born in the 1930's,1940's,
> 50's,
> 60's and 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 colored
> lead-based paints.
>
> We had no child-proof 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 hitch-hiking.
>
> 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 collected old drink bottles and cashed them in at the corner shop to
> 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'd forgotten the brakes. We built tree
> houses
> and dens and played in river beds with matchbox cars.
>
> We did'nt 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 bullies 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.
>
>
>
>
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