I Can't Believe I Made It.

[Menchhofer]

I Can't Believe We Made It
> According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who
> were kids in the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70'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 seat belts 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. 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 actually died 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. No cell phones.
> We did not have ###########s, ######## 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 home 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. 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 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 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!
> 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.
> I'm Still alive and kicking.

[oakwilt]

"I'm still alive and kicking"....

but not everyone.

Survivor's guilt I guess. It's not from just being alive when other's died....it's from being alive because other's died for you and their manner of death could have been prevented.

Sorry, melancholy today. Thank you anyway.

[mquinn]

oak - sorry you're feeling melancholy. it's the pressure cooker again.

try to remember that the people who died for you are people who died for a reason. that they are representatives of an idea. and you also are a representative of an idea.

roles.

recognize those people, thank them, but it's time to stop feeling guilty.

it's all part of the play. your part is your part. the roles could have been reversed. they weren't.

and when you are reaching out as far as you can, you will see that you are all one anyway.

best wishes.
m


p.s. alive and kicking. keep on kicking. my grandfather used to say he was still kicking, but not stirring up much dust.

[ORclimber]

Now I want to pull the Mt. bike off the side of the garage and go build a jump. Better not, too dangerous, have to climb tomorrow.