Those Born between 1930-1979

(This one's for you, Matt. So you'll have a picture of what Mama and Papa's growing up years were like. In a nutshell. Those times...Mama is having a blast reminiscing now...haha... Note: In the ensuing paragraphs, comments at their end and in italics are mine, and mine alone.)


TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's , 40's, 50's, 60's and the 70's

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank
while they were pregnant. (Except that I know my mother doesn't drink alcohol or smoke. Ever)

They took aspirin, drank evaporated milk, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs made of abaca. We didn't have Pampers or Huggies, just the cool comfort of the "lampin." (Oh, yeah!)

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets
and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, kneepads or elbowpads; not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking with just "tsinelas" (slippers) and "sandos" (sleeveless undershirts). . .yet we were able to come down from the hills and mountains. (Sure did!)

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car
seats, booster seats, seat belts or airbags. (Except that we didn't have a car then. Only a motorcycle issued to my father by the company he works for at that time. And we rode in open public transpo, and we inhaled a great amount of dust and carbon monoxide-ridden air. Oh we still inhale a lot of carbon mono and God-knows-what else these days.)

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. ( True! Even from deep wells! The deep well still lives in my parents place, but its water is now used for watering the plants and cleaning purposes. And occasionally, for laundering when we ran out of NAWASA supply)


We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle
and NO ONE actually died from this. (I cannot remember about this though. Maybe I didn't have enough baon to buy softdrinks then.)

We ate "tira-tira", white bread and "mantikilya", dirty ice cream
and drank sweet sago't gulaman from the nearby store.. but we
weren't overweight because WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING ! (My parents forbade us to buy these things but yet...and I miss the "tira-tira" and other street food I'd secretly buy like sliced mangga or papaya in plastic, the foamy colorful drink, which the kids call shake, I'd buy across the school gate. Thinking about it now, I think it's all just food coloring, sugar and ice and a dash of crushed peanuts!)

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. (Or until my mother yells around the neighborhood with some stick in one hand)

No one was able to reach us all day.
And we were O.K. (Indeed!)


We would spend hours riding our bikes and rode down
the hills, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After
running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve
the problem. (As for me, I learned to ride a bike in highscool. And I pratcised in our school grounds)

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no
video games at all, 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 or chat rooms.......WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them! (No phones and still we manage to find one another at the right place and at the right time. Actually, we had all the time to look for one another in say, a department store, because there were no other things -like gadgets enumerated above - to keep us busy. We simply had the time. Time to gather around and talk. No blogging to keep us busy. Haha.)

We fell out of trees, got cuts, broke bones and teeth and
there were no lawsuits from these accidents. (Nasty scrapes and cuts! I still have the scars.)

We were given "baril-barilan" for our 8th birthdays and
yet we still grew up as peace-loving adults. ( Ha! And to illustrate, I really am having second-thoughts at the buying my son a toy gun. I hesitate to. I opt to buy cars or books for him.)

We played "tumbang preso", "taguan" or "syato"..the game
where sticks were flying; and although we were told we may hit
our playmates, we did not put out very many eyes. (Ever heard of kundisi-buko? Anyone interested to play sometime, e-mail me. LOL)

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! (No texting or calling prior to the visit!)

We look forward to summer basketball leagues in our
neighborhood and although not everyone made the team,
those who didn't were able to learn to deal with disappointment. (Is it safe to say that depression wasn't much of an issue in the young peeps then?)

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law
was unheard of. (Totally! Gracious!)

They actually sided with the law! (Amazing!)

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever! (Ahem..)

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and
new ideas. (**throat clearing**)

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and
we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL! (**cough**cough**)

(So...)

If YOU are one of them,
CONGRATULATIONS!

(Congratulation to me too!)

(And..)

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. (But then the time calls for such measure.)

And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they
will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were. (Tadaaa! Here comes the powerful tool @ this time- the internet. Email!)