TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 50s, 60s and 70s!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us [though, of course, not all mothers did)

They took aspirin, ate blue-cheese dressing and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, our baby cribs and cots were covered with bright coloured lead-based paints.

We had no child-proof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and, when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets… not to mention the risks we took hitch-hiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick-up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose or the tap 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, bread and butter and jam [jelly] and drank soda-pop with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!

We would leave home in the morning and play unsupervised all day, as long as we were back
for meals and 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 using real sharp tools and then ride down the hill, only to find out we had forgotten the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We made bows and arrows and throwing-spears with points made of nails flattened on a railway line and used them only on targets.

We had fights – with strict rules - which stopped when one child admitted defeat. We didn’t tell our parents about this - even if we lost. We also believed that "Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but Names will never hurt me" We never even knew about counselors.

We did not have Play-stations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on Sky or Cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell-phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet 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 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!

Children’s sports teams had trials 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 or got into trouble at school was unheard of. They actually sided with the law or the schoolteachers!

We understood that “No!” was a complete sentence when uttered by a responsible adult, but was not available for us

This generation has 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!

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Some of today’s ills could be due to the demise of an olds friend, COMMON SENSE.

Today, sadly, we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who had been with us for many years. His title is something of a misnomer, since Common Sense is the least common of the senses. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in a welter of bureaucratic red tape.   He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain, Why the early bird gets the worm, Life isn’t always fair and Maybe it was my fault.   Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when apparently well-intentioned, but overbearing, rules and regulations were set in place.   Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using a mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.   Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job they themselves failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Panadol, sun lotion or a sticking plaster to a student.   He lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses and criminals received better treatment than their victims.   Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar can sue you for assault. Common Sense finally gave up the will to live after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap and was awarded a huge sum.   Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility, and his son, Reason. He is survived by three stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else is to Blame, and I’m A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few people realized he was critically ill, let alone dead and gone.

R.I.P