To All those Born in the 50's , 60's & early '70s..



'The article below was written by Patrick Teoh in his blog "Niamah!!".

To All those Born in the 40's, 50's , 60's & early '70s... First, we
survived with mothers who had no maids. They cooked /cleaned while taking care
of us at the same time. They took aspirin, candies floss,fizzy drinks, shaved
ice with syrups and diabetes were rare. Salt added to Pepsi or Coke was remedy
for fever. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and
when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets. As children, we would ride with our
parents on bicycles/ motorcycles for 2 or 3. Richer ones in cars with no seat
belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a private taxi was a special treat. We
drank water from the tap and NOT from a bottle. We would spend hours on the
fields under bright sunlight flying our kites, without worrying about the UV ray
which never seem to affect us. We go to jungle to catch spiders without worries
of Aedes mosquitoes. With mere 5 pebbles (stones) would be a endless game. With
a ball (tennis ball best) we boys would ran like crazy for hours. We catch guppy
in drains / canals and when it rain we swim there. We shared one soft drink with
four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually worry about being unhygenic.
We ate salty, very sweet & oily food, candies,bread and real butter and
drank very sweet soft sweet coffee/ tea, ice kacang, but we weren't overweight
because...... WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!! We would leave home in the
morning and play all day, till streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us
all day. AND WE DONT HAVE HANDPHONE S TO BUG US. And we were O.K. AND WE ARE
SAFE. We would spend hours repairing our old bicycles and wooden scooters out of
scraps and then ride 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 no
t have Playstations, X-boxes, Nintendo's, multiple channels on cable TV, DVD
movies, no surround sound, no phones, no personal computers, no Internet. WE HAD
FRIENDS and we went outside and found them! We fell out of trees, got cut, broke
bones and teeth and we still continued the stunts. We never had birthdays
parties till we are 21 We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and just
yelled for them! The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was
unheard of. They actually sided with the law! Yet this generation has produced
some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever! The past 40
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! And
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 government regulated our
lives for our own good. And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they
will know how brave their parents were. PS: -The big type is because
Long-sightedness or hyperopia at your age . he... he...

~ Patrick Teoh