Another Year Older
Tue, Mar 20, 2007
Yesterday was that day for me when we notch out belts and thank the Good Lord that we made it through another year. I’ve survived 34 of them now. Yeah that’s right 34 (shut up stuntdbl you young punk - same goes for you Fishkin).
My sister, who makes custom glass jewelry, sent me a familiar email that I really like and I figured it was due for another round of emails and blog posts:
Those Born 1930-1979!
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930’s 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s !!
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn’t get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored 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 infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank koolade made with sugar, 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 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 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD’s, no surround-sound or CD’s, no cell phones, no personal computer! s, no Internet or 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 given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, 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 walked in and talked to them!
Little 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!
These generations have 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!
If 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 so much of our lives for our own good. And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn’t it?!
March 20th, 2007 at 10:05 am
Wait, it was your birthday yesterday? mine too! lol, except there’s 14 years between us…
March 20th, 2007 at 10:07 am
The fact you point out the 14 years means it’s not in my favor - jerk
March 20th, 2007 at 10:11 am
Happy birthday Oil
March 20th, 2007 at 10:30 am
Happy Birthday to you!
March 20th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Happy belated Birthday Oilman,
I’m 34 in a couple of months too! Great post - I feel like i’ve achieved something now.
March 20th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
Belated, but happy birthday Todd
March 20th, 2007 at 5:09 pm
ah you know I mean no harm, btw HAPPY BIRTHDAY for yesterday (2 days ago know!?) dude
March 20th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
Happy birthday Todd! (and as someone who’s 34, I can tell you that 34 is a great age to be.)
March 21st, 2007 at 3:20 am
Happy B-day bro - you old fart
March 21st, 2007 at 8:20 am
As someone who has survived the last four of those decades mentioned, I can identify with all of that. I often wonder how we survived when nowadays there are laws against a lot of what we did just naturally, like riding in the back of a pickup. We never thought anything about drinking out of a garden hose. And I’ve been healthy all my life. Now the kids are sick all the time. Go figure! Congratulations on reaching 34. The next 30 should be even better!
March 21st, 2007 at 9:25 am
You’re only 5 years older man:)
Happy birthday dude.
March 21st, 2007 at 9:57 am
And a happy B’day to you… From down under and left.
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:16 am
Congratulations from one old man to another. Looking forward to seeing you soon
March 23rd, 2007 at 10:28 am
Reading that makes me want to move someplace where my kids could actually do all of the stuff we did as kids.
BTW, you can take the link credits out of your footer. Matt shut down the site, is no longer supporting the theme, and let the domain expire. Your links are just juicing a parked domain now.
Happy birthday.
March 23rd, 2007 at 11:52 pm
Happy Birthday! Wait until the big 40 looms…
March 25th, 2007 at 10:21 am
What a great letter your sister sent you. You have a year on me but at this point, I still think these are the best years (maybe that will change next year?). We know who we are, what we want to do and we have the means to do it, even if we are closer to 40 years old then 20 years old.
March 27th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
Happy belated birthday old man. Many happen returns to this day. Jeff
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:08 am
I just turned 30 march 4. I don’t know, it felt strange and only when I look in a mirror do I realize I’m not 16 anymore.
Oh, and the joint aches from early onset of arthritis…
Happy birthday. Go Habs.
April 9th, 2007 at 10:21 am
Happy Belated Birthday, Friend,
Dale e-mailed me the essay “Those Born….” Fun to read and so true!!!
Douglas just turned 15! Can you believe he’s ready to start driving???!!!……if he can put down his Blackberry and IPod Video long enough to watch the road!!
When are we going to see you, S and the kids again?
Miss you,
Cheryl
April 12th, 2007 at 12:06 am
You forgot being able to actually sign up for your own business in the back of Popular Science/Mechanics and actually make money as a kid slacker(True Story). Zing!
P.P.S. Happy Birthday
-Dal aka: Year of 79′ (Barely Made It)
July 6th, 2007 at 12:24 am
Happy belated birthday old man