Southside High School,
Selma, Alabama
Baby
Boomers?...how did we survive
Being of a generation that managed
[somehow] to grow up without the government
regulation and law suits we see today, it is truly amazing
we survived, according to
the way things are today. You'll get a kick out of these as you reflect
back on how
it was "back in the day." And you'll realize that almost all of this
applies to virtually
all of us. Reflect for a minute and decide if we are indeed really better
off today.
These were submitted by Sheila Shelby Malone (Class of 1974). Enjoy!
If you're under 30 and are reading
this - don't worry - you'll be there soon enough to relate.
 | People over 30 should
be dead. Here's why .................. |
| According to today's regulators and bureaucrats,
those of us who were kids in the 50's, 60's, 70's, and early 80's probably
shouldn't have survived. |
| Our baby cribs were covered with bright
colored lead- based paint. |
| 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
seatbelts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day
was always a special treat. |
| We drank water from the garden hose and not from a
bottle. Horrors! |
| We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank soda
pop with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always
outside playing. |
| We shared one soft drink with four friends, from
one bottle, and no one can actually remember anyone ever dying from this. |
| We would spend hours building our go-carts out of
scraps and then rode 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 street lights came on . |
| No one was able to reach us all day, that's right,
ALL DAY! NO CELL PHONES!!!!! Unthinkable! |
| We did not have Play Stations, Nintendo 64,
X- Boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, video tape movies,
surround sound, personal cell phones, personal computers, or Internet chat
rooms. |
| We had friends! We went outside and found
them. We played dodge ball, and sometimes, the ball would really hurt. |
| We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones and
teeth, and there were no lawsuits 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 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. |
| 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. |
| Some students weren't as smart as others, so they
failed a grade and were held back to repeat the same grade.
Horrors! Tests were not adjusted for any reason. Our actions
were our own. |
| Consequences were expected. The idea of a parent
bailing us out if we broke a rule or law was unheard of. They actually sided
with authority. Imagine that! 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're one of them! Congratulations! P.S. When you turn on the water to the garden hose to get a drink, don't forget to let the water run for a bit before getting a drink...the water will be cooler...and won't taste as much like plastic. What was I thinking?...you know that! |
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jeff@southsidereunion.com
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