Probably not politically correct, but perhaps thought-provoking

Jim Fall

With traditional wisdom being that lifting isolated items from someone else’s work is plagiarism while lifting all of it is research, I am going to dive into what follows under the guise of research.

The other day, I received an electronic communication that is, obviously, making the rounds again, from Joe Baumli PhD, Nodaway County’s esteemed former presiding commissioner.

Probably because I fit the general demographics of those singled out in this particular discussion, it grabbed my attention.

And, as I re-read it, I found myself nodding my head in agreement.

I understand that some of these comparisons are no longer valid — the parts about pregnant women drinking, or anyone smoking, for that matter, in particular.

But I also understand that some of the fondest memories from my childhood are directly related to references made in this exposé.

And my dad had sight in only one eye, because his brother had shot him with a BB gun when they were boys.

I never got cut from a Little League team, but when the University of Missouri told me, “No,” on veterinary school, I didn’t suffer any lasting damage. I switched to journalism and have gotten along.

Minus most of the capitalization for emphasis and at least a couple of dozen exclamation points, I submit these thoughts as having more than a little bit of isolated relevance:

No matter what our kids and the new generation think about us, we are awesome.

Our lives are living proof.

(This is) to those of us born 1925 – 1970, to all the kids who survived the 1930s, ‘40s, ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s.

First, we survived being born to mothers who may have 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, locks on doors or cabinets, and, when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps, not helmets, on our heads.

As infants and children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and, sometimes, no brakes..

Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose, not from a plastic bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter, and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And we weren’t overweight.

Why?

Because we were always outside playing — that’s why.

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 okay.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride them 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 Play Stations, Nintendos and X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVDs, no surround-sound or CDs, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no 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 those accidents.

We would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping-pong paddles, or just a bare hand, and no one would call child services to report abuse.

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 to 85 years have seen 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 those born between 1925-1970, 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.

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 ?