To the Class of 1980

First, we survived being born to a few mothers who smoked or drank while they were pregnant; they took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn't get tested for diabetes.

We slept on our tummies in flammable jammies, next to windows with blinds.  We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets. We didn't have car seats or listen to baby Mozart.

We didn't wear seatbelts, we rode in the back of pick up trucks , we drove old pickups and cars on back roads or ranches as soon as we could see over the dashboard. Not to mention the risks we took hitchiking.

When we rode our bikes we had baseball caps, not helmets on our heads. We rode our bikes or walked to a friends house, we knocked on the door or walked in to talk to them.

We drank water from the garden hose, not water bottles.  We shared  soft drinks with  friends from one bottle, no one actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter, bacon and eggs.  We drank whole milk by the gallon in glass jars.  We drank Kool-Aid with real white sugar.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendos, X-Boxes, no videos...unless you count Pong as a video game :-).  We didn't have 99 channels on cable, no surround sound, cell phones, no Personal Computer or Internet chat rooms.

We were always outside playing kick the can or dodgeball, we would leave in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on, or when our Mom called us to dinner, we never complained about being bored or needing a snack. We weren't overweight because we were always outside playing.

WE HAD FRIENDS, if not we went out and found them, there were no "Playdates".  We would spend hours building a fort out of scraps in the trees or in our yards.  We learned how to build them, then tore them down and rebuilt them.

We would spend hours building Go-Carts out of scraps (Soap Box Derby  down Thurmond Hill,) sometimes we forgot the brakes, after running into the bushes, we learned to solve the problem.

We played for hours in our yards, with sprinklers on, we camped out in our back yards, we learned to swim in Creeks, Lake DeSmet, Tongue River Resevoir or the YMCA.  We played in the ponds at the Information Center.

We survived the low flying crop dusting airplanes drench us with mosquito repellant

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth with no lawsuits

We ate mud pies with real dirt

We got BB guns for our 10th birthday

We made up games with sticks, cans, rocks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put any eyes out.

Little League had try-outs, not everyone made the team, those who didn't had to deal with disappointment.....Imagine that!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of, they actually sided with the law

We walked to school rain, sleet or a lot of snow, we spoke to our teachers with respect.....remember Mr. Siebenaler's 3 sided ruler?

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever. 

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibilty, we learned how to deal with it all.  You are one of them....

Congratulations!!