I adapted this from an anonymous article in a local School News letter that I believe originally came from a Parish News letter. I thank the unknown author for a few minutes of delightful perceptions. I can almost hear the sharp intake of breath from all the self appointed guardians of public welfare.... but onward and upward..  

Should people over 40 be dead? According to those who hold sway on public opinion these days, those of us who were Kids in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s probably should not be alive today.

 Why?

 Remember being a kid?

 There were no childproof lids on medicines bottles, doors or cupboards.

We rode our bikes, did not wear helmets and stood up on the pedals whilst our friends rode on the seat.

We rode in cars without seat belts or air bags…and riding in the back of a truck on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water directly from a garden hose, we swam in the local Pond.

We ate loads of cakes and sweets and fizzy drinks but did not get overweight, (why? because we spent our time playing outside with friends.)

We shared our bottles of “Pop” with friends and didn’t bother wiping the rim.

We built Go-Karts from bits of scrap metal and wood, it usually took a few crashes, a few scratches and scrapes before we remembered to ask Dad to nail on a lump of wood we could use as a brake.

We went out early in the morning to play, returning only when the street lights lit up.

No-one could contact us all day (our only phones were two cans and a long length of string!)

We did not have Play Stations and X-box, no multi-channel TV or even internet chat rooms… but, we did have FRIENDS. We left the house and found them wherever they where.

We played all sorts of games, Kick-can, football and other ball games, some of which HURT.

We fell from trees and got cuts and bruises even broken arms. We called it having a little accident… remember accidents!

We fell over in the School Playground chasing each other around, tearing our trousers or skirts...and our knees and elbows. The teacher and our parents told us it was own fault!

We had fights and punched each other, split lips, black eyes and such, we learned to become friends again.

We played games with sticks and balls and despite being told we would poke out each others eyes, we never did!

We ate unwashed fruit “gathered” from trees in the farmer’s Orchard and the germs did NOT stay inside us forever.

Our Mums didn’t worry if we didn’t get home for tea, they knew we would be sharing someone else’s.

We had trials for sports teams at school, sometimes we didn’t get selected and our friends did, that hurt for a while but somehow we got over it.

If the local “Bobby” (Police Officer, for overseas friends) caught us doing something we shouldn’t, he gave us a clip round the ear, told our Mums and Dads, who then repeated it! The idea of our parents bailing us out was unheard of, they would always side with the “Bobby”.

However times improve, for any of the zillions of people who nowadays have accidents, (invariably someone else's fault) we have equally zillions of lawyers, therapists and councelors to help us out. Many more than we did when we were kids...how did we manage!

So, if you are over 40 and reading this ….Congratulations …despite the odds ….
you made it through.