Grand Avenue by Mike Thompson for July 22, 2018

We had to invent the helicopter before we could have helicopter parents.

Being able to wander free prepared us to be independent adults! There is some myth to how free we were. I lived in a small town (10 thousand),and if you screwed up, somehow,magically, your parents found out.

We may have been free to wander, but we always came home for lunch and dinner. Sometimes we ate those meals at friends homes but the mom would call your house to let your family know where you were. We always had to be home before dark, which was OK, since we knew that tomorrow would be just as much fun. Too bad those days are gone.

A sad fact of life now days. Too many crazies out there

And thus, two more grow up to be fearful, rather useless adults. They will never have an adventure that doesn’t come with a minute by minute agenda, safety crew and commemorative tee-shirt.

So true.. when I was young I would take my fishing rod or 22 cal rifle and go off.. for the day and she would have no way of knowing where I was. I often wondered, now much older.. if she was ever worried.. as I am now when my grandsons come over and want to go to the local park.. which is a mere 100 yards away.

The difference between then and now is truly profound. Even as a very young kid, I went wherever I wanted with no fear of morbid peril. I rode my bike to town six days a week to pick up my papers to deliver on my route on the other side of town… 15 miles from home. In winter, I would return home almost every day after dark yet my parents never had any need for concern. Nowadays, few kids even own bikes and the ones who do ride them only within sight of home. That’s sad because our bikes gave us not only tremendous mobility but also provided us independence which helped prepare us for the real world as adults. So… are there really THAT many more bad guys today lying in wait to snare the unfortunate child who wanders too far from home than there were back then? Or has our society become paranoid and overly protective of children?

Yup it was just a wonderful time, could take the subways by ourselves, walks by ourselves, go to movies, and pars and walk to all kinds of different places, I am so glad I grew up when I did

This is also a contributing factor to the problem of overweight kids. Kids don’t go outside and play anymore. Street games are a thing of the past. Replaced by computer screens and video games. If I tell my 8 year old granddaughter about games like hopscotch, Giant steps, Red light- green light, and Spud: she looks at me like I have 3 heads.

We still had boundaries usually landmarked by friends houses or certain streets. There was hell to pay if you were caught or even rumored to have crossed the line.

When I was a kid, I would ride my bike to the library. And it wasn’t down the street.