My darling Zevon wrote this:

To kids who survived the 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's, and 70's.

First we survived being born to mothers who smoked and drank while they were pregnant. They took asprin, 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 cribs covered with brightly colored lead based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes we had no helmets.

As infants and children, we rode in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts, or airbags. Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. We shared one soft drink with four friends from one bottle, and NO ONE actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread, and real butter, and drank Kool-Aid made with real sugar, but we weren't overweight because......WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!

We left home in the morning, played all day, and came home when the street lights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We had no playstations, Nintendo's, X boxes, video games, 150 cable channels, video movies, dvd's, surround sound, cd's, I pods, cell phones, personal computers, internet, nor 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 these accidents.

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 friend's houses and just walked in.

Little League had tryouts and not everyone make the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with diappointment.

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 the world has ever known! The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, sucess, and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it!

You are one of these people-Congratulations.

ttfn