Eating Mudpies

When I was a little kid, we were encouraged to go outside and play. We used our imaginations to invent games. We didn't have Nintendo or DVD's. When we rode in the car for long trips, we played games to pass the time. Games like counting cows or the alphabet. They were fun games. When we played outside, we played army and used sticks for guns. We ate mud. We played on jungle jims. We fell and got back up. When I was in 4th grade, I played football with the neighborhood kids. I was the quarterback. I fell down and broke my thumb. My parents took me to the hospital, and I got a cast. It was part of being a kid. A neighborhood girl was climbing a tree and fell. She broke her arm. She got a cast. It was part of being a kid. We ate mud. We ate dirt. We ate snow. So what? We were kids. Our parents didn't have hand wipes nearby. We weren't kept in plastic bubbles. Our parents didn't worry about us getting cancer. There were no stories on the news about all the stuff in our environment that could hurt us. We just had fun. Now, everyone is so paranoid about artificial sweeteners or plastic bottles. And it's not just kids. There is so much bad news for adults. You almost feel like you just need to shut the door and lock it. Don't let anything get to you, as you are going to die. Oh, and heaven forbid if a kid acts up in school. They have ADD. No more Class Clowns. And, don't even think about being disciplined by the teacher, or he/she will be jailed. I suppose one could make the case that science has progressed so much that it is protecting the public from disease and harm. But, guess what people? The folks in my generation are basically okay. The ones since then, after all of the worries began, are the ones with the problems. A lot of kids are overweight. Why? You could say they are not eating right, and they may be, but also they are sitting inside playing video games or watching TV. I watched a lot of TV growing up, but I also went outside and ran around. I guess if I started out now, I would weigh 300 pounds.