SURVIVING THE PERILS OF CHILDHOOD IN THE 1950’s!

Looking back all those years ago it has to make one wonder how baby boomers survived their childhood.

Infant car seats were just metal frames that hooked over the back of the seat. No one heard of air bags or seatbelts. Kitchens and bathrooms had no child safety locks. Kids rode bikes without helmets and sometimes just barefoot. On a hot summer’s day we took turns drinking icy cold water from an old dirty garden hose. When it was raining the gutter on the street made a perfect stream for launching boats made out of popsicle sticks and paper. We drank Kool Aid made with cups and cups of sugar – a favorite I remember was lemon lime!

On weekends and all summer we were sent outside to play right after breakfast no matter the weather and only came in for a quick lunch and then back out again until dinner and our parents had no idea where we were, who we were with, or what we were doing. We could be in our own backyard or down the street in some friend’s yard or even wandering several blocks to the small neighborhood corner shop to buy a 5 cent candy bar – if we were lucky enough to have 5 cents that day!

Parents didn’t seem to worry about children wearing hazardous flammable pajamas as long as they were cute and colorful.

At the playground we played on such dangerous equipment such as the ‘Merry Go Round’.

We brought our own lunches to school and most times it was a peanut butter and jam sandwich and no one seemed to be worried about peanut allergies.

We played with dangerous toys many of which had tiny parts that could be easily swallowed. We played darts and other games long since banned,

Yet left to our own devices we somehow managed to make it through those ‘dangerous’ childhood years and into adulthood! The children of today sadly will never know the magic of those days while they stay glued to their computer screens and video games.

TURNING 70

Turning 70 is one of those milestone birthdays which puts you definitely in the category of 'elderly' or 'senior citizen', and so many other terms for just plain old! One of the benefits of being old is that if you are lucky you will get that coveted front seat on the bus! You get to reminisce about the past and the 'good old days' and with the passing of time and fading memory if you are lucky you will remember the good things and conveniently forget about the not so good.

Having been born in 1953 I have lots of good memories about growing up in the 1950s and 1960s. I remember playing outside on a summer's day with complete freedom and needing no adults to keep a constant vigil to make sure we were 'safe'. We had the run of the neighborhood and we somehow survived. We would rush inside for lunch and dinner and then run back outside to play until dusk which growing up in Vancouver, Canada would mean playing outside until 9 or 10 p.m. Back then we only had our imagination to limit us and it was a magical time to be a child.

Now that I am 70 I don't have to feel guilty about the luxury of an afternoon nap or just staying home if that's what I want to do. Being retired, I am free from office politics and trying to please the boss and fitting in everything I want to do in a weekend that goes by way too fast. Of course, on the flip side I have to deal with the aches and pains of old age, poor eyesight and poor hearing and the loss of loved ones. Like everything, old age brings its share of positives and negatives and in the end it is still a matter of balance - balancing the good with the bad and just living in the moment.