I just loved this one coz this is so true of my childhood..
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE 1950's, 60's,70's & 80s
First, we survived being born to mothers who had no full time maids/cooked food/cleaned the house while they carried us.
They took aspirin, ate cheese , sweet dishes and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, our baby cribs 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, 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 local bus/train was a special treat.
We drank water from the tap and NOT from a bottle.
We would spend hours on the terrace under bright sunlight flying our kites, without worrying about the UV effect which never ever effect us.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.
We ate pastries, 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 street lights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.
We would spend hours repairing our out dated bicycle and scooter out of scraps and then ride 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 Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell 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.
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
We were never given BB guns for our 10th birthdays,
We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put 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 yelled for them!
Cricket 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!
This generation has 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!
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.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!
Comments
judelined
Mon, 2010-03-08 02:43
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This was an email I received from my friend and I couldn't stop myself from sharing it with all of you as I am sure most of you might relate to it - have fun reading
sudhabalakrishnan
Mon, 2010-03-08 03:30
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Supppperb Judy, Yes i agree with you even this is very closer to my heart as i have come thru all this. It is also touches me as our children could not experience this. If they overcome any 2 or three such incidents they will know the realy value of life. I do not know about others, by submitting this articles it has boosted my self confidence and also you made to recollect all my childhood days. Life is a challenge face it, this was proved in those days, but now ?????? may be or may not be. Whatever i felt about this article i have written. please excuse if i have written anything wrong. thanks a lot Judy.
jkmrao
Mon, 2010-03-08 04:21
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Great reminder to everyone! I read all the intricate theory about electricity and Maxwell's equations with the light provided by the kerosene lamp. I got my first radio when I was 22! In fact, a friend helped me build it. Until then, the radio in a restaurant or from a neighbour's house was the only source of music. I still remember where I heard certain favourite songs of mine, like O nirday prItam in a small restaurant at the junction of Jail Rd and Gandhi Rd (?) in Coimbatore, attAn en attAn from a horse-drawn cart. I never owned a TV till I came to the US. Newspapers, magazines and books were the only source of entertainment in those days. Going to movie theatres was another. But that requires money which one has to beg from parents, who were not inclined to part with hard-earned money for frivolous activities. In those days, the floor ticket in Tirupati cost 19 paise and the lowest class in Madras was 30 paise (0-4-9). So I became a bookworm
My advice to anyone is - read at least one to two hours a day something that is NOT connected with your profession. Don't forget good books are available today for free reading and downloading. You can't imagine how much you have read after twenty years!
Regards! - mOhana
jayamohan
Mon, 2010-03-08 06:13
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It was a nostalgic ride thro' our past!
We used to run behind the carts carrying cine posters to get pink color bills to add to our precious collection.
Pick broken glass bangle pieces from the floor of the tiny shops and make long chain by joining them using candle flame-It was an exciting feeling which cannot be expressed in words!
Getting a new dress for Diwali/birthday is another excitement. The smell of new dresses and new books aaahaa...still remains in my nose!
Lata
Mon, 2010-03-08 08:30
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Interesting piece Judy. My dad bought our first TV after I finished my 10th std. Until then, it was radio for my parents. Come to think of it, we didn't have fridge, grinder too. And, there was always fresh food all the time, unlike nowadays. I feel so guilty ripping out frozen food bags often for my kids, in this era.
judelined
Mon, 2010-03-08 22:22
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Nostalgic memories for everyone I can see.. Indeed we had the best of this wonderful world to enjoy I think.. Our first TV came when I started working only. Radio was the only consolation for quite a while. After that Dad bought a flat bed tape recorder when I finished school and we used to be so thrilled to record our voice and listen to it. I remember once we were all having fun at home talking and laughing. Little did we realise Dad had pressed the record button. After sometime he played it and we were all rolling with laughter listening it. Fridge, mixie, grinder and washing machine was luxury, so was the telephone. These came to me only after I got married. I too remember making pretty colourful chains out of broken bangle bits that we collected. We sometimes used to break our glass bangles to make these chains. Anyone remember collecting match lables?? I had quite a big collection and we had exchange schemes also - what a craze that was for us. Another collectors item was the thread from those shiny silk like material (the type movie stars used those days). They came in gold, silver, and all other bright colours and we used to have bunches of this colourful thread inbetween the pages of all our books. Yearly summer holidays for one month to grandma's house in Cochin was something I cannot forget. So much time to play and have fun and yet be good in studies. These days I pity the poor kids who have nothing else to do but study all the time. No evening play but tutions to go for. Even holidays turn into summer camps with study oriented things to do. They have lost touch with that wonderful life that we all enjoyed and we never had a camera to capture those lovely moments
Oh my I can go on and on and on - but I'd better stop here....
subashini
Mon, 2010-03-08 23:34
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pasumai niraindha ninaivugalay, paadiththirndha paravaigalay yendru padavendum pol irukkiradhu jude.Andha naaL gnabagam nenjilay vandhadhey, indha naaL andru pol inbamai illayay adhu yayn yayn ?
sailaja.s
Tue, 2010-03-09 01:37
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judy madam,
even i keep thinking how our childhood is different from that of uor kids. we used to read volumes of chandamama, tinkle,and amarchitrakatha.we were carefully storing to read again during vacations and also share with friends.gone are the days when kids were reading hardyboys, nancydrew, classics,detective novels,. now who cares?the kids lie down lazily and watch t.v. or are glued to computer.
Sumathi.v
Tue, 2010-03-09 01:51
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Children of today have forgotten visiting relatives ,attending marriages,enjoying festivals at home,going to the home town for summer vacation etc etc.They are confined to Tv,Mobile phone and internet and have become couch potatoes.As a result of this importance for relatives ,family functions ,cultural values and ethics is slowly diminishing.Those where the golden days when we grew without any inhibitions!!!
judelined
Tue, 2010-03-09 22:38
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This is such an interesting discussion
Thanks everyone for your inputs.
madhuharini
Mon, 2010-03-15 05:23
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Judy first i thanks to u for remembering those lovely days.My childhood croseed in different types of villages though my father was an village executive officer.When we are returning from school we had no the packed foods.MY Mom gave us like porikadalai, verkkadalai steamed or fried with jaggery,steamed corn as the seasonal food.It gave us strength and we helped with mom with all the household works.So there is no need for exercises seperately.In holidays all cousins are joined in our grandmas home and it was very nice.Even now all are in different places when we met our topic is this only,Haa,how sweet days.When said to this to my daughter she asked why we had no cousins like u?Why?
I fear that whther the next gen children know the words and its value?