Golden Years Like Hell

Showing posts with label generations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label generations. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

The 60's

Well the last two weeks have been fraught with concern for some old friends.  One went into the hospital and ended up have his kidney and some other things get removed, he had cancer. Phil has been a friend from 40 years and is only 62, he is also my birthday brother and I love him a lot and was so sad to hear of his health crises.
Then the same day my friend Bill called from the hospital, he had fallen and looked kind of messed up.  It was decided he was going to need a heart procedure done and the following week it was done, so far so good, he is also 62.
Then two days later my friend Corey had a "small heart attack" and she spent a couple of days in the hospital, she is 60. 
The 60's suck..........that is the conclusion that I am coming up with.  Because most of my friends are that age it is really become prevalent that 60 sucks and God forbid you make it to 70. 
My generation is not nearly as tough as my parent's generation was, and the generation under us is even less tough.  The scientific studies are showing for the first time in history that the younger generations are dying sooner than the older ones.  A lot is contributed to diet, but also the lack of physical activity, which I see all the time with the kids and grandkids.  Is there a way to reverse this trend?  I don't know.  After going through 4 days without power, I found even I was suffering without my favorite TV show or the internet.  So how does one withdraw from this addiction also?
It appears to me that country is full of addicts...food, sex, drugs,internet, tv and any new trend.  I wonder if it is because this country was founded by those who had the adventure gene, those who had the wanderlust, those who were ADHD.....could it be that we are all genetically addictive and that something triggers it?  I know my generation got hooked on the drugs,sex, fast food and pop.....it didn't take much in the 60's....Oh my, back to that number 60....

Friday, August 19, 2011

A Concept

A friend forward these thoughts to me.....interesting concept


Those Born 1930 - 1979:



TO ALL THE 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/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-base 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 & 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 pick-up truck 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, 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 O.K.
 

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 Playstations, Nintendo's and X-boxes.
 
There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable,
 
No video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, 
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 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 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 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. 


If YOU are one of them? 
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 ?