Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
> One would think people over 40 should be dead.
> >
> >Here's why ... ... ... ...
> >
> >According to today's regulators
> >and bureaucrats, those of us
> >who were kids in the 40's,
> >50's, 60's, or even maybe
> >the early 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 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 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!!!!!
> >
> >Unthinkable!
> >
> >We did not have Playstations,
> >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 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 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 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 !!!!!
> >
> >People under 40 are WIMPS
> >
> >Here's why ... ... ... ...
> >
> >According to today's regulators
> >and bureaucrats, those of us
> >who were kids in the 40's,
> >50's, 60's, or even maybe
> >the early 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 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 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!!!!!
> >
> >Unthinkable!
> >
> >We did not have Playstations,
> >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 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 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 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 !!!!!
> >
> >People under 40 are WIMPS
.
BTW I'm 27 and I grew up in similar circumstances to you guys over 40.
