To Those Who Were Born in the 1920's, 30's, 40's & 50's
 

First, many of us were born at home, some with just a mid-wife in attendance.
 
We were given aspirin for most minor pain, cod liver oil if we weren’t “regular,” and a cold compress on our foreheads for minor fever.

We ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
 
After that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints.
 
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, kitchen cabinets and doors had no locks, and when we rode our bikes we did not wear helmets.

As children, we rode in cars with no seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day, or going to a drive-in after WW2, was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

We shared soft drinks with friends, drinking from one bottle, and NO ONE actually died from it.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter, and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because….  WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

It was not unusual to leave home in the morning and play all day with neighbor kids, and it was OK, as long as we were back in time for supper.

When we were away, playing or in school, no one could reach us all day. We, and our parents, survived the ordeal without pagers or cell phones.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps of wood and metal and then ride down the hill, only to find out that we had forgotten the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

After WW2, when television became available, we had perhaps three channels, not the two hundred plus now on Dish or cable. Horrors!

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, video games, video tape movies, surround sound, cell phones, personal computers, Internet or Internet chat rooms… but 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 were given BB guns for our eighth birthdays, and some of us in the country even got .22 rifles for our tenth birthdays. Trust in our common sense, and an admonition of “Don’t shoot the cows,” seemed to be all that was necessary to keep us out of trouble.

We made up games with sticks and tennis balls, and although we were told it would happen, we didn’t 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!

Not everyone made the grammar school baseball team… and those who didn’t had to learn to deal with the 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!
 

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

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Will Rogers, who died in a plane crash with Wylie Post in 1935, was probably the greatest political sage this country has ever known. His thoughts about growing older...
 
Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.
 
The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.
 
Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know “why” I look this way. I've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved.
 
When you’re dissatisfied and would like to go back to your high school days, think of algebra.

You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks.

I don't know how I got over the hill without getting to the top.

One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change from being young.
 
One must wait until evening to see how splendid the day has been.

Being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.

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