Just received this e-mail and thought I'd share it for the benefit of those that hadn't seen it before. Quite long but worth reading. 
According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us
who were kids in the 60's, 70's and early 80's probably
shouldn't have survived, because our baby cots were covered with
brightly coloured lead-based paint which was promptly chewed and licked.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, or latches on doors
or cabinets and it was fine to play with pans.
When we rode our bikes, we wore no helmets, just flip- flops
and fluorescent 'spokey dokey's' on our wheels.
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or
airbags - riding in the passenger seat was a treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle and it
tasted the same.
We ate chips, bread and butter pudding and drank fizzy juice
with sugar init, but we were never overweight because we were always
outside playing.
We shared one drink with four friends, from one glass bottle
and no-one actually died from this.
We would spend hours building go-carts out of scraps and
then went top speed down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes.
After running into stinging nettles a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We would leave home in the morning and could play all
day, as long as we were back before it got dark.
No one was able to reach us and no one minded.
We did not have Play stations or X-Boxes, no video games at all.
No 99 channels on TV, no DVDs, no surround sound, no
mobile phones, no personal computers, no Internet chat rooms.
We had friends - we went outside and found them.
We played british bulldog and pretended to be superheroes We
fell out of trees, got cut, and broke bones but there were no law suits.
We had full on fist fights but no prosecution followed from other parents.
We played cherry door knocking and were actually afraid of the
owners catching us.
We walked to friends' homes.
We also, believe it or not, WALKED or got a scabby bus to
school; we didn't rely on mummy or daddy to drive us to school, which was just round the corner.
We made up games with sticks and tennis balls.
We rode bikes in packs of 7 and wore our coats by only the
hood.
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was
unnheard
of...They actually sided with the law.
This generation has produced some of the best risk- takers and
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.
And you're one of them. Congratulations! Pass this on to
others who have had the luck to grow as real kids, before lawyers and
government regulated our lives, "for our own good".
For those of you who aren't old enough, thought you might like
to read about us.
This my friends, is surprisingly frightening......and it might put a
smile on your face The majority of students in universities today
were born in 1986........They are called youth.
They've only just figured out who Bob Geldof is, and think punk
music started last year with Green Day.
They have never heard of Rick Astley, Bananarama, Nena Cherry
or Belinda Carlisle. (possibly not a bad thing of course....)
For them, there has only ever been one Germany.
AIDS has existed since they were born.
CD's have existed since they were born.
Michael Jackson has always been white.
To them John Travolta has always been round in shape and
they can't imagine how this fat guy could be a dancefloor superhero.
They believe that War of the Worlds and Texas Chainsaw
Massacre are films from last year.
They can never imagine life before computers.
They'll never have pretended to be the A Team.
They'll never have applied to be on Jim'll Fix It or You Bet.
They can't believe a black and white television ever existed.
And they will never understand how we could leave the
house without a mobile phone.
Now let's check if we're getting old...
1. You understand what was written above and you smile.
2. You need to sleep more, usually until the afternoon, after a night out.
3. Your friends are getting married/already married.
4. You are always surprised to see small children playing
comfortably with computers.
5. When you see kids with mobile phones, you shake your head.
6. You remember watching Dirty Den in EastEnders the
first time around.
7. You meet your friends from time to time, talking about
the good old days, repeating again all the funny things you have
experienced together.
8. Having read this mail, you are thinking of forwarding
it to some other friends because you think they will like it too...
Yes, you're getting old!!
According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us
who were kids in the 60's, 70's and early 80's probably
shouldn't have survived, because our baby cots were covered with
brightly coloured lead-based paint which was promptly chewed and licked.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, or latches on doors
or cabinets and it was fine to play with pans.
When we rode our bikes, we wore no helmets, just flip- flops
and fluorescent 'spokey dokey's' on our wheels.
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or
airbags - riding in the passenger seat was a treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle and it
tasted the same.
We ate chips, bread and butter pudding and drank fizzy juice
with sugar init, but we were never overweight because we were always
outside playing.
We shared one drink with four friends, from one glass bottle
and no-one actually died from this.
We would spend hours building go-carts out of scraps and
then went top speed down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes.
After running into stinging nettles a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We would leave home in the morning and could play all
day, as long as we were back before it got dark.
No one was able to reach us and no one minded.
We did not have Play stations or X-Boxes, no video games at all.
No 99 channels on TV, no DVDs, no surround sound, no
mobile phones, no personal computers, no Internet chat rooms.
We had friends - we went outside and found them.
We played british bulldog and pretended to be superheroes We
fell out of trees, got cut, and broke bones but there were no law suits.
We had full on fist fights but no prosecution followed from other parents.
We played cherry door knocking and were actually afraid of the
owners catching us.
We walked to friends' homes.
We also, believe it or not, WALKED or got a scabby bus to
school; we didn't rely on mummy or daddy to drive us to school, which was just round the corner.
We made up games with sticks and tennis balls.
We rode bikes in packs of 7 and wore our coats by only the
hood.
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was
unnheard
of...They actually sided with the law.
This generation has produced some of the best risk- takers and
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.
And you're one of them. Congratulations! Pass this on to
others who have had the luck to grow as real kids, before lawyers and
government regulated our lives, "for our own good".
For those of you who aren't old enough, thought you might like
to read about us.
This my friends, is surprisingly frightening......and it might put a
smile on your face
The majority of students in universities todaywere born in 1986........They are called youth.
They've only just figured out who Bob Geldof is, and think punk
music started last year with Green Day.
They have never heard of Rick Astley, Bananarama, Nena Cherry
or Belinda Carlisle. (possibly not a bad thing of course....)
For them, there has only ever been one Germany.
AIDS has existed since they were born.
CD's have existed since they were born.
Michael Jackson has always been white.
To them John Travolta has always been round in shape and
they can't imagine how this fat guy could be a dancefloor superhero.
They believe that War of the Worlds and Texas Chainsaw
Massacre are films from last year.
They can never imagine life before computers.
They'll never have pretended to be the A Team.
They'll never have applied to be on Jim'll Fix It or You Bet.
They can't believe a black and white television ever existed.
And they will never understand how we could leave the
house without a mobile phone.
Now let's check if we're getting old...
1. You understand what was written above and you smile.
2. You need to sleep more, usually until the afternoon, after a night out.
3. Your friends are getting married/already married.
4. You are always surprised to see small children playing
comfortably with computers.
5. When you see kids with mobile phones, you shake your head.
6. You remember watching Dirty Den in EastEnders the
first time around.
7. You meet your friends from time to time, talking about
the good old days, repeating again all the funny things you have
experienced together.
8. Having read this mail, you are thinking of forwarding
it to some other friends because you think they will like it too...
Yes, you're getting old!!
