First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant..

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn’t get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered
with bright colored lead-base paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes,
we had baseball caps
not helmets on our heads.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.

Riding in the back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle..

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes made with Lard, white bread, real butter and bacon. We drank  FLAV- OR- AID made with real white sugar. And, we weren’t overweight.   WHY?

Because we were always outside playing….that’s why!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on..
No one was able to reach us all day. And, we were OKAY.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps
and then ride them 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

We did not have Play stations, Nintendo’s and X-boxes. There were no video games, 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 and no chat rooms.

WE HAD 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 would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping pong paddles, or just a bare hand and no one would call child services to report abuse.

We ate worms and mud pies
made from dirt, and
the worms did not live in us forever.

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..

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.

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team.
Those who didn’t had to learn
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!

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

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. What can kids today do besides push buttons..

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all..

If YOU are one of them, CONGRATULATIONS!

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.

While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave and lucky their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn’t it ?

The quote of the month is by
Jay Leno:

‘With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?’

Go to http://www.ionz.com.br/index.html and answer the questions to get one of these for yourself! Click on the English flag in the upper right corner if you prefer English. Enjoy!

Hellmann’s – It’s Time for Real from CRUSH on Vimeo.

We created this spot along with Sons and Daughters director Steve Gordon for the Hellmann’s site http://www.eatrealeatlocal.ca/

Agency is Ogilvy, Toronto

This book is filled with useful information covering various aspects of life on a small homestead including how to prepare land for crops, grow vegetables and fruit, rear livestock, and even foraging in the wild. I am very interested in learning how to grow my own tomatoes, keep bees for honey, use dairy products, and learn the practical information including tips and advice so as to reap the harvest, respect te land, stay healthy, and waste nothing.

Erika and I were on our long road trip this summer and although we saw some amazing things along the way, this one topped them all. In an apparent feat of exhibitionism, this man was apparently riding his unicycle, and juggling three basketballs.  I can’t wait to see what I can find next!

Where is that equivalent experience today? Where can the average individual strike out into the unknown, stake a claim, and see the fruits of his labor? I want to be proud of my accomplishments, to be able to sit on my porch at the end of the day and look out over my land with satisfaction that I have tended it well.

Is that dream able to be realized through my efforts in my career as an urban planner where I look out over an urban landscape that I helped to shape? Is that dream able to be realized in a more rural setting on a small ranch where I strive to live a sustainable low impact lifestyle?

Perhaps both scenarios are possible to fullfill or satisfy my desire to settle the frontier in my own way.

On Zank Ranch I hope to have a garden, an orchard, raise farm animals, and perhaps a few exotic ones as well. I would like to create a place where other family can live and enjoy a life with a greater connection to the land. I think it would be great to learn some of the basic skills that hardly anyone knows how to do anymore like making cheese and butter, growing plants, tending animals, and other ranch type of things.

What do you think are other ways to capture the homesteading, adventuring, or pioneering spirit?