this to all of you who survived the 1920's -- 1980's
first you survived being born to mothers who may have smoked or even drank while they were pregnant
they took aspirin and ate blu cheese dressing,tuna from a can,and weren't tested for diabetes.
then after that trauma you were put to sleep on your tummies,in a crib colored with bright lead based paints
you had no lids on childproof medicine bottles,locks on doors .and cabinets.
when you rode your bikes,you wore baseball caps-not helmets on your head.
as infants you rode in cars with no car seats ,no booster seats,no seat belts,no air bags,sometimes bald or retreaded tiresand bad brakes
riding in the back of a pickup truck was a joyful outing for you.
you drank water fro, a garden hose.
you shared a soft drink with three friends from the same bottle,and no one got sick or died.
you ate cupcakes,white bread,real butter and bacon.
you drank "kool aid"sweetened with white sugarand
you weren't overweight.
WHY???
because you always played long and hard outside.
that's why!!
you played all day.aslong as you were home before dark,noone cared. and we survived.
you spent hours building your go carts fron scrap lumber.
then ride them downhill,only to find you did not have brakes.and you survived
you did not have play station,nintendosor x boxes.
there were no video games,no 150 channel cable.
no movies on dvd,no surround sound or cds.
no cell phones,no personal computers,no imternet and no chat rooms
you had friends and you went outside and found them
you fell out of trees ,had broken bones and lost teeth.
there were no law suits from these accidents.
you got spanked by belts ,switches,paddles and bare hands,and no one called child services to report abuse.
you ate worms and nud pies,and the worms did not live in you

you had friends and you went outside and found them
you fell out of trees,got broken bones and teeth.
you were given bb guns about your tenth birthday,
made up games with sticks and tennis balls.
and though you were told it would happen,we didn't put out anyones eyes.
you rode your bikes for miles .went to your friends houses and knocked on their doors,or maybe just walked in
you entered little league tryouts,and not everyone nade the team
those who didn't make the team learned to live with the disappointment,or determined to get better and make the tean the next year
imagine that!!
you had to earn ,nothing was given.
if you broke the law ,the idea of parents bailing you out was un heard of.
parents actually sided with the law.

these generations have provided our nation with some of the best problem solvers and inventors ever.
the past 65 to 85 years have seen an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
you as children had freedon ,failures successesand learned responsibility
and you survived
if you were born between 1925 and 1970
I COMMEND YOU
FOR YOU ARE SPECIAL