[Rhodes22-list] Another Test - With an added bonus!!

[G & D Barrera]

Rather liked this..


>   If you lived as a child in the 40's, 50's, 60's or 70's, looking =
back,
> it's hard to believe that we have lived as long as we have...
>
>   As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
Riding
> in the back of a ute on a warm day was always a special treat.
>
>   Our cots were covered with bright colored lead-based paint. We had =
no
> childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors, or cupboards, and when we =
rode
> our bikes we had no helmets.
>
>   We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. Horrors.
>
>   We would spend hours building go-carts 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 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.
No
> mobile phones. Unthinkable.
>
>   We got cut and broke bones and broke teeth, and there were no law =
suits
> from these accidents. They were accidents. No one was to blame, but =
us.
> Remember accidents?
>
>   We had fights and punched each other and got black and blue and =
learned
to
> get over it.
>
>   We ate patty cakes, bread and butter, and drank cordial, but we were
never
> overweight...we were always outside playing. We shared one drink with =
four
> friends, from one bottle and no one died from this.
>
>   We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, video games, 65
> channels on pay TV, video tape movies, surround sound, personal mobile
> phones, Personal Computers, Internet chat rooms ... we had friends. We
went
> outside and found them. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home and
> knocked on the door, or rung the bell, or just walked in and talked to
them.
> Imagine such a thing. Without asking a parent! By ourselves! Out there =
in
> the cold cruel world! Without a guardian - how did we do it?
>
>   We made up games with sticks and tennis balls, and ate worms, and
although
> we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes, nor =
did
the
> worms live inside us forever.
>
>   Footy and netball had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those =
who
> didn't, had to learn to deal with disappointment.....
>
>   Some students weren't as smart as others so they failed a grade and =
were
> held back to repeat the same grade. Tests were not adjusted for any
reason.
>
>   Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected. No one to hide
> behind. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was =
unheard
> of. They actually sided with the law - imagine that!
>
>   This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and =
problem
> solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years has 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!
>
>   Please pass this on to others who have had the luck to grow up as =
kids,
> before lawyers and government regulated our lives....... for our own
> good......
>