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Perspective by Jerry Kirksey
Growing Up Did Not Kill US !!!
and we did it without help from the government
Most of this applies to anyone pass 40 or so.....
First, some survived being born to some mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Some of us were not even born in a hospital, and dad, granddads, granny's and even friends and neighbors held us when we were only minutes old.
Then after that trauma, our baby cribs if we had one, were covered with bright colored lead-based paints. And toys not approved by any government agency.
We had no childproof medicine bottle lids, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, or shoes in the summer.
Hitching a ride was not dangerous. It was just folks helping folks.
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. And could stand up next to dad with our arm around his neck. Dad was all the safety measures we needed. If you were riding in the front seat with mom, her right arm was stronger than any seat belt ever made.
Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose, a spigot, or a community cup hung on a well or hand pump, and NOT from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and all took bites from a baby ruth or a moon pie and NO ONE actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread, homemade biscuits, cakes, pies, fried chicken, bacon and eggs fried in bacon fat, drank whole fresh cows milk, ate real butter and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because we were outside playing!
Or, God Forbid we had to actually help mom with chores or dad in the garden or yard.
I can't even imagine what would have happened to me if I had ever told mother that my room was off limits to her.
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back before dark. Mom could not reach us on our Dick Tracy watch, Soup can phones or GI Joe hand held army walkiee talkee. No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.
Moms and dads did not worry about us because they didn't have to worry about what kind of people our neighbors were. They knew them all.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the
bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem. With no help from OSHA.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape or DVD movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms. WE HAD REAL LIVE FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no
lawsuits from these accidents.
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt. Pick and ate anything that looked like a berry or fruit. That's how I met the persimmon.
We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.
I was raised in the country if you got sick, Dr's. grandmother and granddaddy were called in. Granddaddy cured, all cuts, bruises, bites etc. mostly with kerosene or turpentine rags, tobacco juice, from his chewing tobacco and a fresh piece of chewing gum to ease the pain. Grandmother took care of the major ills. Potato soup was for everything, then came mustard plasters for colds etc. and warm whiskey, lemon and sugar for coughs. We didn't have insurance or HMOs just loving family. (Just a thought these people my family lived to their mid or late nineties, three past 100)
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked right on in!
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!
We got spankings by hand, belt, paddle, hair brushes, and a large variety of switches. I never heard the term child abuse.
How many times did you ever think of calling the police to your mom or dad for spanking you?
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
A spanking at school meant a spanking at home. Dad and mom never thought about suing a teacher for spanking me they thanked them.
My sister and I were NEVER sent to Church, we were taken to Sunday School and Church.
I never talked back or sassed my mom or dad, because I did not want to die at such an early age.
Daddy, always told me what I was getting a spanking for, spanked me, told me he loved me, or he would not have just spanked me. Mother just spanked me, most of the time twice, she would always say, that one just made you mad, now this one is going to make you happy. You bet I always acted happy.
Mom and Dad were the government in our home. We didn't need state or federal laws to make them take care of us, their love was stronger, more sincere and powerful than all the governments in the world combined.
The foundation for law in our home was God's word. You could get a good spanking at my house for just laying a magazine or anything else on top of the Bible. The chain of command at the Kirksey household was, God, Dad, Mom, from there on the ground was about level with everyone and everything else.
If you are not prepared, success can be the WORST thing that will ever happen to you.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.
Thinking of all this kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!
Love You All
Carolyn and are in Branson MO at Southern Gospel Nights at Silver Dollar City. We have concerts tonight through Saturday night. I am working on some new photos of the Branson and the concerts for you. Will post them as soon.
Posted by Jerry Kirksey at 12:47 PM - Send Comments -   Email This Post
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It took three photos to cover the crowd from left to right. If you stick the bottom photo next to the two top photos you could see how large the crowds are each night here in Echo Holler at Silver Dollar City in Branson MO
