bravepilot
Registered User
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 flip-flops 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 juice 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, no DVDs, no Internet chat rooms.
>We had friends - we went outside and found them.
>We played elastics and 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 chap-the-door-run-away and were actually afraid of the owners
>catching us. We walked to friends' 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 was 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.
>This my friends, is surprisingly frightening......and it might put a smile
>on your face:
>The majority of students in universities today were born in
>1986........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 Cherry 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, RedHand Gang or the Famous
>Five.
>They'll never have applied to be on Jim'll Fix It or Why Don't You.
>They can't believe a black and white television ever existed. 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.
>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 remember watching Dirty Den in EastEnders the first time around.
>7. You meet your friends from time to time, talking about the good Old
>days, repeating again all the funny things you have experienced together.
>8. Having read this mail, you are thinking of forwarding it to some other
>friends because you think they will like it too... Yes, you're getting
>old!!
>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 flip-flops 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 juice 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, no DVDs, no Internet chat rooms.
>We had friends - we went outside and found them.
>We played elastics and 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 chap-the-door-run-away and were actually afraid of the owners
>catching us. We walked to friends' 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 was 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.
>This my friends, is surprisingly frightening......and it might put a smile
>on your face:
>The majority of students in universities today were born in
>1986........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 Cherry 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, RedHand Gang or the Famous
>Five.
>They'll never have applied to be on Jim'll Fix It or Why Don't You.
>They can't believe a black and white television ever existed. 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.
>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 remember watching Dirty Den in EastEnders the first time around.
>7. You meet your friends from time to time, talking about the good Old
>days, repeating again all the funny things you have experienced together.
>8. Having read this mail, you are thinking of forwarding it to some other
>friends because you think they will like it too... Yes, you're getting
>old!!
