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A Love Letter to Childhood [Weirddave]

This week is Christmas, so I'm going to forgo Fundamental Concepts just this one time. For those of us who believe, Christmas is a celebration of the love and mercy that God showed us human sinners by sending his own son to die so that we don't have to. For those of a more secular bent, it is a celebration of all that's good and right in the world, regardless of the source. This post is for all of us.

I watched the movie The Sandlot for the first time last week. Halfway through I turned to my wife and said "This is a love letter to childhood". She responded "Your childhood as an American male, my childhood was as a Canadian female". There was no reproach in her statement, just that I was talking about an experience that wasn't wholly shared. Point taken. I am an American male, and I'm writing this from that frame of reference with no apologies. Let me go even further. In this * spit * post-racial, social justice, redistributionist America of 2014, I am a white American male. So the fuck what? I'm writing for EVERY American who is willing to embrace what this country should stand for and can be.

The Sandlot is the story of a group of kids who play baseball in 1962 suburbia. Their whole life revolves around the game, which the narrator classifies many times as simply "ongoing". They have the usual childhood adventures, all of which are tied back to their baseball game. It's idealized, as any myth should be, but the core truth of their experience shines through. They learned teamwork, honor, and friendship through their adventures. I had the same childhood, even though I came along a generation later. My childhood took place in the late 70s and the early 80s.

What did I do in my childhood? I went out. I left the house in the morning, and came home when the porch light went on for dinner.

I remember at 5 or 6 gathering all my courage to throw myself on a sled down the "highest hill in the world! IN THE WORLD, I TELL YOU!". I've been back to that hill since. I'm taller than it now. My wife never tires of teasing me about that whenever we drive by it.

I remember hopping the fence of the neighborhood graveyard, finding the mulch pile behind their maintenance shack and bringing home a pot of hardly withered lilies from the mulch pile for my mom as a gift. She made them bloom and I never told her where I got them.

I remember throwing crab apples into a neighbors swimming pool with my friends, and when it turned out that the homeowner's mother had been swimming at the time, my father spanked me, HARD, with a belt ( he did this two times that I can recall, the other was completely bogus, some asshole up the street told dad that us kids had thrown our baseball bats at him when he rode by on his motorcycle. We hadn't, but dad didn't know that. The salient point is that we were playing baseball together in the street.)

I remember riding my small motorcycle up and down the CSX tracks, from Baltimore City damn near to the Pennsylvania line, completely unsupervised. When I went over the handlebars ONTO MY FACE in the ballast, and split my entire upper lip open, I had to stand the bike up, get it running again, and ride home. To her credit, mom didn't freak out (I was red from neck to toe with blood by that time), but hustled me off to the ER.

I remember blowing my face off with black powder on vacation in Maine.

I remember digging a HUGE hole (I swear we must have gotten it to at least 8X8 and 4 ft. deep) to make the coolest underground fort EVAH with my best friend, and then getting bored with THAT project (too much like work) and just throwing Molotov cocktails into the hole for amusement. (WHOOSH!!)

I remember getting together with same friend and cutting down a tall, TALL pine tree, and not realizing until it was on the way down that OMG THERE ARE POWER LINES OVER THERE! The tree top missed them by maybe an inch.

And so on. I could literally go on for pages.

I'm trying really hard not to turn this into just another old man "get off my lawn" rant, there is a point to my ramblings. My experiences as a child taught me important (you might even say...fundamental) lessons about life. I learned to share. I learned how to rely on people. I learned how to behave in a group setting. I learned that actions have consequences. I learned that I don't know as much as I think I know. I learned to fess up to my sins. I learned to be responsible.

I think this is what used to be called "growing up".

If The Sandlot is a love letter to an idealized childhood, I think it behooves us to ask why idealize such a thing now, what is different? My experiences weren't so different than my father's, or my grandfather's or my great grandfather's. I'll always remember my great grandfather's last words: "Oh, a train!" (He was killed in the 1930s in a small Kansas town where the railroad ran right through the village with no crossing gates. He stepped off of the sidewalk at just the wrong time. I have no idea if those were his actual last words. I suspect they were "Oh, SHIT!").

Kidding aside, as a kid I'm sure he played hard on the great American prairie. My Grandfather did the same. So did Dad. I played the same games in the green woods of the Mid-Atlantic. Cops and Robbers, Tag, Cowboys and Indians, War. We went out and made the world our childish oyster. The world was our pet, and it followed us along obediently. In the process, however, we learned all of the lessons I stated above.

Now?

I have two kids. Big is 20 and Little is 10. Did/do they have the same childhood? Perhaps, to an extent, Big more than Little, kids are kids after all, but today Little's games revolve around a virtual world. Not completely, but that's just because I make a point of pushing him out into the real world, if he had his druthers he'd do nothing but play video games.

I'm not knocking the virtual world, I sit here and blather on at y'all after all, pretending that it's important, but I can put it in perspective because of my upbringing. Fostering off our kids to be babysat by the internet or cable TV or YouTube is easy. It's seductive. I recognize this, and resist it, but in my experience many parents don't and completely abrogate their responsibility to raise their kids, leaving it to mass media. I'll admit that I use it to my advantage at times, and I'm ashamed of that. I want time alone so I send Little off to the computer. Now I have time to myself to go to my workshop and do projects that interest me, or to sex my wife, or maybe just to watch the Ravens game. Like I said, it's seductive. Is it better?

No. It is not better. All of those values I spoke of up thread, they're not being instilled in our kids. Because of this, the social fabric of America is unraveling.

Last summer Little made a new friend, Kendall. They spent a lot of time at his house playing video games, but they went out into the woods too. One day Little came home with a long scratch on his arm. "Oh, I got that when Kendall, his brother and I were out in the woods. I fell against a telephone cable that scratched me". I made appropriate noises of sympathy, but I swear to God that I wanted to jump up and down and scream "YES! YES! MY SON HAS BEEN WOUNDED BY THE REAL WORLD!". Isn't that pathetic? In my day that was the norm. I came home one day with no eyebrows because one of those Molotov cocktails we were throwing into our fort hole exploded too close. Nobody even thought it was worth commenting on. Sadly, Kendall has now moved away.

I guess the point of all of this is that we as a people, as a culture, need to take time to consider why a childhood like the one in The Sandlot is idealized. By almost any measure, 1962 was worse than 2014. Here's an interesting article from AEI about that. Still, you don't idealize something that's objectively worse, you idealize something that was better.

What have we lost, and what will it cost us in the long run?

"Progress"

Heh.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 12:02 PM




Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Too many people have bubble wrapped their children for decades in the belief that way the the child and the world will be better.

Instead they stand there with eyes turned upwards and mouths open like turkeys in the rain.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at December 20, 2014 12:11 PM (wfOci)

2 Ritalin takes a lot of the fun out of being a (boy) kid these days.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at December 20, 2014 12:13 PM (4IFRz)

3 I grew up in the 50s and 60s. We played ball in the open backyards between the houses on our street and the houses on the next street over. We also had many adventures that could have got us in a lot of trouble. We used to build pipe bombs from copper tubing and match heads. That would be a felony now. We also used to take off in the morning on out bikes and ride 20 miles out in the country to a swimming hole. You can't do that anymore either because there are too many crazies out there and the traffic on the highways is a lot heavier.

Posted by: Vic at December 20, 2014 12:16 PM (u9gzs)

4 Good piece

Posted by: The Jackhole somewhere on Ventura Highway at December 20, 2014 12:16 PM (dULJN)

5 Nice post!

You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone!

I do wish I had bought a farm years ago just so I would have the space to let my grand-kids wander the woods, fields, and streams unafraid of a local pervert or bothered by do-gooder neighbors!

Also, they would have stacked a lot of wood for the stove.

Posted by: Hrothgar at December 20, 2014 12:17 PM (fL/7/)

6 I remember when a bicycle was your most prized possesion, your key to the world

Posted by: The Jackhole somewhere on Ventura Highway at December 20, 2014 12:18 PM (dULJN)

7 Great post!
Yes, I had a similar (though not as dangerous) childhood. Roamed the neighborhood with friends, and we ventured farther using bus passes or bikes.
Lived about 6 blocks from the mountains, so an impromptu hike with the dog wasn't unusual. So much fun. And some mischief (shhhh! that was not me who climbed up Rachel's 40 ft pine with her and screamed obscenities at perplexed passers by).

Posted by: Lizzy at December 20, 2014 12:18 PM (ABcz/)

8
Posted by: Vic at December 20, 2014 12:16 PM (u9gzs)


Was that your second childhood?

Posted by: Hrothgar at December 20, 2014 12:18 PM (fL/7/)

9 I had the best and worst childhood you could imagine. Somehow, I really only remember the good parts now.

The thing that sticks out most is the freedom that I had. It wasn't that long ago, but growing up in a small town, kids were still allowed to roam freely. That's one of the reasons we moved away from Austin to rural Texas. It may not have the giant sledding hills of my childhood, but by God, it has freedom.

How are children supposed to embrace freedom if they're never given any experience with it?

Posted by: Lauren at December 20, 2014 12:18 PM (MYCIw)

10 How are children supposed to embrace freedom if they're never given any experience with it?

Posted by: Lauren at December 20, 2014 12:18 PM (MYCIw)

A good serf is always aware of the "rules"!

Posted by: Hrothgar at December 20, 2014 12:20 PM (fL/7/)

11 Yup. I agree with you 100%. In the summer before I went away to summer camp, I left the house barefoot early in the AM and did not come back till after dark unless i was hurt, hungry ( although my friend's mom usually fed me and yelled at me or whatever), or mom came looking for me. And I did not die, get kidnapped or grow up to be a sissy boy. Ah the good good good old days.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at December 20, 2014 12:21 PM (Zmw74)

12 DirtClods at Dawn!

Posted by: JDub at December 20, 2014 12:21 PM (X3xYu)

13 "I watched the movie The Sandlot for the first time last week."

wut it took you this long to watch that flick?

Posted by: The Dude at December 20, 2014 12:22 PM (SyKbw)

14 My grand kids are blessed to live on three acres out in the woods, complete with pond. Lots of climbing and 4 wheeling and frogs and turtles and such. Not much in the way of neighbor kids tho. But at least they are outside a lot, making messes and torturing critters in the summer, skating and sledding in the winter.

Posted by: grammie winger, joy to the world at December 20, 2014 12:22 PM (dFi94)

15 Childhood.

Never did like it. Or the other kids.

Posted by: garrett at December 20, 2014 12:22 PM (pIelo)

16 Oh and I grew up to be a G-D fearing ( well ok but at least I fake it and respect those who do) Patriotic American Boy

Posted by: Nevergiveup at December 20, 2014 12:23 PM (Zmw74)

17 My son is 11 and has the good fortune of having three other families with kids (six friends) just on our block. Though there is a lot of video game play, they manage to get along no matter what the kid configuration (boys and girls) and they will roam from house to house, or house to one of the nearby parks, play in the sprinklers or with nerf guns, etc. So maybe not as dangerous or adventurous, but we're really trying to foster that sense of freedom/not being overscheduled.

Posted by: Lizzy at December 20, 2014 12:24 PM (ABcz/)

18 How are children supposed to embrace freedom if they're never given any experience with it?

Today's Moms will never, ever allow them to even taste it.

I've seen an inordinate number of moms who seem convinced that there is someone out there just waiting to abscond with their little precious child and refuse to let them get out of her sight. I don't understand this mindset, but it's everywhere these days.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, Curmudgeon Extraordinaire at December 20, 2014 12:25 PM (0HooB)

19 Excellent. Thank you.

Posted by: flounder at December 20, 2014 12:26 PM (sDapq)

20 DirtClods at Dawn!

Posted by: JDub at December 20, 2014 12:21 PM



There was a lot of that in my childhood, and I'm a girl. One of my grandma's neighbors stomped down to grandma's house after a particularly memorable routing of the kids down the street and yelled about us throwing clods at her grandkids. Grandma said, yep, they sure do have good arms.

Posted by: huerfano at December 20, 2014 12:27 PM (bAGA/)

21 Ah, rock fights.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at December 20, 2014 12:27 PM (yxw0r)

22 Too many people have bubble wrapped their children
for decades in the belief that way the the child and the world will be
better.

Instead they stand there with eyes turned upwards and mouths open like turkeys in the rain.


Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at December 20, 2014 12:11 PM (wfOci)


We say that a lot, and snark that it's a miracle we all survived to grow up...


but then I look at some of the dumb-ass things we did and realize, we really ARE lucky we survived to grow up.

Posted by: GGE of the Moron Horde, NC Chapter at December 20, 2014 12:27 PM (6fyGz)

23 Childhood.



Never did like it. Or the other kids.

---

*fistbump!*

Posted by: Y-not at December 20, 2014 12:28 PM (9BRsg)

24 DirtClods at Dawn!

Posted by: JDub at December 20, 2014 12:21 PM (X3xYu)


I'm a veteran of the Great Dirt Clod War to end all Dirt Clod Wars. 1977-1978.
I was there. I saw it all. My buddies lying in the dirt, clutching the welts on their bellies, screaming for their mommies. I will never forget it.




Posted by: EC at December 20, 2014 12:29 PM (doBIb)

25 >>growing up in a small town, kids were still allowed to roam freely.


Yep. Growing up in a small town and the neighbors all knowing each other facilitates a lot of freedom. My dad was a doctor (GP) and my mom very active politically, and had 3 siblings (plus church) so I couldn't go anywhere without someone knowing someone I was related to. Seemed like a pain, but it's also an invisible safety net.

Posted by: Lizzy at December 20, 2014 12:29 PM (ABcz/)

26 That's just a ripoff of the Canadian film, The Ice Rink!!!

Posted by: andycanuck at December 20, 2014 12:29 PM (Dw98+)

27 Molotov cocktails, Weirddave?


Damn, you were a terrorist!






Posted by: EC at December 20, 2014 12:30 PM (doBIb)

28 Confession: I had a pretty free childhood but I turned into one of those fearful, overprotective moms with my oldest. Dunno why - although I was also a Dem at the time.
Tried / trying to reverse it, but I regret the overprotectiveness.

Posted by: @votermom at December 20, 2014 12:31 PM (ROE64)

29
That's just a ripoff of the Canadian film, The Ice Rink!!!

Posted by: andycanuck at December 20, 2014 12:29 PM (Dw98+)



Except in OUR film the kids only got chased by a dog, not a polar bear.

Posted by: GGE of the Moron Horde, NC Chapter at December 20, 2014 12:31 PM (6fyGz)

30 9
How are children supposed to embrace freedom if they're never given any experience with it?

Posted by: Lauren at December 20, 2014 12:18 PM (MYCIw)



That's the big question, isn't it?

As the linked AEI article shows, we definitely have a higher material standard of living today than 50 years ago. Back then, most homes didn't have air conditioning, most TVs were black & white and only got 3 or 4 channels, and families that had cars had only one, and it was pretty much worn out at 100K miles.

But there was much more freedom then. Most people could live their lives without seeking the government's permission for everything. And while technology has increased our access to information and given us greater choices in entertainment and convenience, it has also bolstered the government's ability to monitor our activities.

Posted by: rickl at December 20, 2014 12:31 PM (sdi6R)

31 "I don't understand this mindset, but it's everywhere these days."

I've been thinking a lot about what has made my generation of mother so afraid. Maybe the freedom that I had as a child was unusual, but it just doesn't seem like childhood in the 80s (yeah I know, I'm getting off your lawn) was anywhere near as paranoid as it is today.

The only thing that I can think of is 9/11 and the expansion of the TSA/DHS/ ect has fundamentally changed how we view our freedom as Americans.

Of course, that seems odd to me too, since so many of the men I grew up with joined the military post 9/11. They're the fathers of those children. Wouldn't you think they'd be stepping in and telling the mothers to chill out?

I'm sure the 24 hour news cycle about abducted 5 year olds hasn't helped either.

I don't know. Society changed, and it changed fast. It's a hard time to be a parent when you fear that they'll call CPS on you for leaving the kids in the car on a winter day when you run in to 7/11.

Posted by: Lauren at December 20, 2014 12:31 PM (MYCIw)

32 The OP's childhood could have been mine. Well except I never had a facial injury by black powder, but still have a scar from the scope the first time I shot my new hunting rifle. Our kids have it better in so many ways. But in other ways, we had it way better. Kids today are becoming social incompetents with their faces buried in their phones etc. As I speak, my kids just went out to go sledding. I'd join them if I wasn't feeling like crap. But I had to make them. I grabbed their phone and ipod (that they paid for) And told them to go outside and do something. Go build a fort in the woods after sledding. Just go out and play. Be a kid. I try to give them as much freedom to roam as I can, but Mrs. Minnfidel doesn't share my spirit of adventure so we have to compromise where we can. It's up to us I think as parents to allow that and not bow to the pressures of other kids/parents. Case in point, my 10 year old wanted an iPad. WTF she needs one for I don't know, but I said no. Save your money if you want one but I nor Santa will be putting one under your tree.

Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 12:32 PM (bXdYS)

33 Except in OUR film the kids only got chased by a dog, not a polar bear.
And the hero who saves the kids is a French-Canadian and not a black guy.

Posted by: andycanuck at December 20, 2014 12:33 PM (Dw98+)

34 Ah, rock fights.

We had bottle rocket fights (and roman candle fights, but that ended when Brad got nailed on the arm with one, not only did it burn him badly, there was a green spot on his arm for 6 or 7 months). If you take a curved tent pole, the kind that goes on the corner of the tent, and slide a lit bottle rocket into the long end of it, you've got a weapon you can aim just like a gun.

Posted by: Weirddave at December 20, 2014 12:33 PM (KAmzK)

35 One-pump gunfights.


Who else?



Posted by: EC at December 20, 2014 12:34 PM (doBIb)

36 Stand by Me is another good movie on the same subject.

My mom would drop me and my friend at a bus stop and we would make our way from the burbs to Cubs park for an afternoon game. Twelve or 13 years old. Don't think anyone's doing that these days.

Posted by: jd at December 20, 2014 12:35 PM (3XgVe)

37 Posted by: Lizzy at December 20, 2014 12:24 PM (ABcz/)

In one way, I think my son and DIL are over-protective with their kids, then I read the newspapers and think maybe they have a point.

Most modern neighborhoods are differently structured than when I grew up. My parents, aunts, uncles knew an umbelievable number of people throughout the whole area where I grew up, so I wasn't going to get away with serious misbehavior, but I also knew that if I got into real trouble, there would be a friend of the family in the area. Most people back then were really aware of what was going on in their neighborhoods and outside their doors. They watched the "local" world because without 24/7 TV and/or internet Pr0n, what else was there to watch.

I think I liked that world better.

Posted by: Hrothgar at December 20, 2014 12:35 PM (fL/7/)

38 One of our favorite things to do when I was a kid was , with friends, try to get lost in the woods / meadows outside my friend's house. For adventure!
No matter how hard we tried, we always ended up someplace someone recognized as familiar.

Posted by: @votermom at December 20, 2014 12:36 PM (+dv0I)

39 >>I'm sure the 24 hour news cycle about abducted 5 year olds hasn't helped either.


Yeah, I think that's made it worse. I think it's also a combination of other factors that have contributed to less community participation which leads to less trust in the community (icky strangers who might hurt my kid), such as: both parents working and their kids having a lot of their activities scheduled - sports, lessons, pre-arranged play dates. A lot of these being outside of the local neighborhood so that the family is not interacting with the neighbors.
My mom worked off and on, but she was very active in the neighborhood - volunteering at schools, doing things with other stay at home moms, that kind of thing. And for sports/lesson, sometimes we carpooled, sometimes we got ourselves there (bus, bike).

Posted by: Lizzy at December 20, 2014 12:38 PM (ABcz/)

40 One-pump gunfights.


Who else?


Posted by: EC at December 20, 2014 12:34 PM

I always accidentally gave a few extra pumps on accident of course. Honest engine. (Can we say honest engine anymore? I denounce myself)

Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 12:38 PM (bXdYS)

41 One-pump gunfights.


Who else?


Posted by: EC at December 20, 2014 12:34 PM

I always accidentally gave a few extra pumps on accident of course. Honest engine. (Can we say honest engine anymore? I denounce myself)

Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 12:38 PM (bXdYS)

42 * hears the siren call of grilled ham and cheese *
* abandons horde to their own devices *

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at December 20, 2014 12:39 PM (l1zOH)

43
Love that movie, "The Sandlot", is a reminder of my childhood too.

Also "Stand by Me".

Especially when we found the dead body, but that's a whole other story.


Posted by: Guy Mohawk at December 20, 2014 12:39 PM (NtzGn)

44 Christmas story reminds me allot of my childhood. And yes, your tongue, it will stick to a metal fence. Or at least I've been told

Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 12:40 PM (bXdYS)

45 Read this, and wow. Same sort of everyday escapades of my childhood, but maybe a little tamer than some of the stuff me and my friends got in to. We live in a different world today. All those life lessons, both good and bad, prepared us for adulthood. Winter or summer, I was hardly ever in the house. My friends and I built a cabin in the woods when we were no more than 9 or 10 - a real cabin. I remember that it would sometimes take us all day to fall a tree, prep it, and put it in place. It was a different world, a simpler one, yet more complex one in many aspects. Littler things meant a lot to us. Gratification was earned unlike today where the world is at our fingertips. I suppose every generation feels this way. My father's generation was different. I had much growing up compared to him. My children have way more than I did. I just wonder where this evolution will take us. I kinda think things are getting way too out of control, and we are in for a reboot.

Posted by: Havedash at December 20, 2014 12:41 PM (G1XMn)

46 Me and my friends used to go to Target and ask tall people for shit.

Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 12:42 PM (bXdYS)

47 I'm sure the 24 hour news cycle about abducted 5 year olds hasn't helped either.


I'd agree. IMO, a few well publicized capital punishments for that would go a long way towards stopping that. Abduct a child, ride the lightning, preferably inside of six months. On PPV.

I could launch into a big ol' diatribe about preserving American Culture, but I won't. Mostly because what we've become isn't anywhere close to what we used to be.

Kids should be able to roam freely, climb trees and do all the other stuff that I once did. At least a few still do. I suppose that's the best we can hope for these days.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, Curmudgeon Extraordinaire at December 20, 2014 12:42 PM (0HooB)

48 Things that families did for fun at the holidays in my childhood - bonfires, fireworks (those little triangles of gun powder), general drunkenness & mayhem.

Posted by: @votermom at December 20, 2014 12:42 PM (JyMHJ)

49 I did lots of swimming growing up. Oh and lying, lots of lying.

Posted by: Joe Biden at December 20, 2014 12:43 PM (WGm5T)

50 Love ya' Y-Not.

Posted by: garrett at December 20, 2014 12:44 PM (Yp8po)

51
4 gross of bottle rockets in a war between my friend and me vs. my older brother and my friends older brother. That was epic, one missed my head by about a millimeter.

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at December 20, 2014 12:44 PM (NtzGn)

52 I remember playing Junior Olympics with my friend Seth. We were all out of shots to put, so we used a brick. I strolled out to spot Seth's throw, and he yelled "look out!." That's the last thing I remember...Seth freaked out and ran home, and I wound up with a gushing head wound. Huey Chang happened along and rode my bike home to get my mom. I was coated in blood. 10 stitches later, and I was right as rain. Good time, good times.

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at December 20, 2014 12:45 PM (5buP8)

53 When we had kids, I had no idea what a "playdate" was. Hey, the front door isn't bolted - go for it.

Turns out moms now arrange all play, driving the kids from one's house to another's, to keep them safe from Democrats perverts. Were there perverts when we were kids? Of course, but then they, like Communists, were uniformly reviled by all and sundry, whereas now they're the darlings of one political party. I suspect that there are no more perverts no than then, but the MSM has convinced every mom in America that half of the population falls into that category.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at December 20, 2014 12:45 PM (oKE6c)

54 I'm sure the 24 hour news cycle about abducted 5 year olds hasn't helped either.


I really think that's at the root of this. Every statistic says that kids today are safer than they've ever been (from strangers), but when I mention this to other parents they refuse to believe it. Why?

Saturation. Let's say that in 1977, 5 kids a month were abducted and killed by psychos, in Amarillo, Baltimore, Kansas City, New York and Boise. Today it's only one kid, a poor unfortunate in Seattle. Back then, it was only local news. If you didn't live in Amarillo, Baltimore, Kansas City, New York or Boise, you never heard about it unless it was especially violent.Today that one kid in Seattle is on the news 24/7. It makes the world seem much more dangerous, when it's actually less dangerous.

The fruits of a dozen 24/7 news channels. They have to have something to fill all that airtime.

I'm as guilty as anyone. I know all of this, but sometimes I still get a twinge of fear when I send Little out to play in the woods. I have to remind myself to just LET HIM GO BE A BOY. Sad.

Posted by: Weirddave at December 20, 2014 12:46 PM (KAmzK)

55 Ok, the Roman Candle Fights were kinda fun.

Posted by: garrett at December 20, 2014 12:46 PM (Yp8po)

56
But, before leaving...
Multiple 'forts', and naturally, dug holes also. Is that some kind of primal thing for boys?

Flimsy tree houses, enjoyed immensely. Dirt clod fights, bicycles, BB guns, pitching baseballs, playing in a nearby creek. Coasting in wagons, and even better, one of these : http://tinyurl.com/puwonfh I still have mine, though worse condition than the pictured piece.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at December 20, 2014 12:46 PM (l1zOH)

57 I'd agree. IMO, a few well publicized capital punishments for that would go a long way towards stopping that. Abduct a child, ride the lightning, preferably inside of six months. On PPV.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, Curmudgeon Extraordinaire at December 20, 2014 12:42 PM (0HooB)




My man.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at December 20, 2014 12:47 PM (oKE6c)

58 >>I think I liked that world better

Me, too, Hrothgar.
My brother and I shared a paper route when I was in 5th and 6th grade - weekday afternoon paper, weekend morning paper (we took turns so neither one of us worked daily). Not a big route (55+) but it meant we were walking the neighborhood (4 blocks in E and W) every day unaccompanied. Got to know a lot of the people on the route, some really sweet (the retired ones would invite us in for cookies), and a few nasty dogs (yes, bitten once) and one guy who inexplicably gave me the willies (so I was always quick to pass by). It was a great experience because it taught us that if you agree to do something you have to do it. Period.

Posted by: Lizzy at December 20, 2014 12:47 PM (ABcz/)

59 We were having a bottle rocket war. My older brother launched one right into the open window of my dad's car, where it left a nice burn mark on the seat. My brother got one too when my dad found out. We laugh about it now, but at the time all I could think about was I was glad it wasn't me. The best part is, we tried to cover it up, thinking he'll never know!

Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 12:47 PM (bXdYS)

60 Were there perverts when we were kids? Of course, but then they, like Communists, were uniformly reviled by all and sundry, whereas now they're the darlings of one political party.

-------------------------

We all knew where to PEDDLE FASTER!, but it didn't keep us at home.

Posted by: JDub at December 20, 2014 12:47 PM (X3xYu)

61 As much as the idea of sitting indoors playing computer games bugs the shit out of me, one advantage is I know my kids aren't doing drugs. They never leave the house!

We had hedge apple fights. A direct hit usually took you right out of the fight.

Posted by: spongeworthy at December 20, 2014 12:48 PM (nLFi/)

62 Oh, and, 12" GI Joes. 'Nuff said.

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at December 20, 2014 12:48 PM (5buP8)

63 One could argue that your parents fostered you off to be babysat by whatever shit you got into outside. The fact that they couldn't give one shit that you blew off your face with a Molotov cocktail might make them shitty parents. So, parenting hasn't changed, it's just the destination.

Posted by: Bob at December 20, 2014 12:48 PM (7Z4N1)

64 I suspect that there are no more perverts no than then, but the MSM has convinced every mom in America that half of the population falls into that category.
-------------

I disagree, when a pathology is nourished, it tends to flourish.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at December 20, 2014 12:48 PM (l1zOH)

65 Pop rocks. And what were those things that you throw down on the concrete and they pop like firecrackers? Bicycles without helmets and going down to the train station and getting that packing band material with the holes in it every half inch or so, bend it off at 5 holes, bend it in the middle and you had a great whistle. Rust? Yeah maybe, what of it? A little paint would take care of that...

Posted by: GGE of the Moron Horde, NC Chapter at December 20, 2014 12:48 PM (6fyGz)

66 Regarding perverts, here in Denver we see reports of child abductions, some failed, some successful, and I gotta say it - in most cases (but not all) the description of the dude indicates it is someone new to the community, IYKWIMAITYD. Thanks, Obama!

Posted by: Lizzy at December 20, 2014 12:50 PM (ABcz/)

67 Acorn fights. Saw a lot of teeth lost to those things.

Posted by: garrett at December 20, 2014 12:51 PM (2oZXo)

68 Amen. As the parent of an only child, I admit that I fight the instinct to be a "helicopter mom", especially in this area (Washington, DC suburbs) where parents are very competitive when it comes to their kids. What I find so sad is that many kids are so over-scheduled with activities that there's no time for anything else. They are some of the most joyless kids I know.

I think it's harder for kids to entertain themselves since their lives are increasingly planned for them. Interestingly, and no matter how much teachers at school try to put a stop to it, the kids almost instinctively end up playing some variant of "cops and robbers" on the playground, albeit under different names.

Posted by: Hoplite Housewife at December 20, 2014 12:51 PM (54JS6)

69 I was raised in flyover country and had the same experiences recounted by so many above. But my dad was a businessman and at age ten I got to go to NYC with him.

He had meetings all day, but gave me a map and said "The Hayden Planetarium is just a couple of miles from here. Or you can go anywhere you want. Just be back at the hotel at six."

Yeah. 1956. Good year to be a kid.

Went on to solo an airplane at 15. Good times.

Posted by: sf at December 20, 2014 12:51 PM (ieYFs)

70 12" GI Joes


Still missing in action.


Posted by: Sandra Fluke at December 20, 2014 12:52 PM (2oZXo)

71 My buddies and I would hop the freight train and ride it to his Grandma's house where she'd feed us all kinds of treats. Then we'd hop back on the southbound to get home. One day the train didn't show up SB and we had to call my Dad. That was a fun ride home. The funny part was, his Grandma knew that's how we got there and saw no problem with it. My Mom did not share that sentiment. Of course we still did it.

Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 12:52 PM (bXdYS)

72 Flimsy tree houses, enjoyed immensely. Dirt clod fights, bicycles, BB guns, pitching baseballs, playing in a nearby creek


Yep. "Sledding" down golden hillsides in the CA summer on pieces of cardboard, after beating down the foot high (dry) vegetation.

And fence walking. Anyone else do that? Walking from yard to yard on the horizontal 2 x 4 runners near the top of a fence.


Chemistry sets with more in them than salt and sugar spurred my love of chemistry.


We used to climb nearby pine trees that grew close together, and pass from one tree to another by walking along a branch of one that crossed right next to that of the other. I'd be terrified to do that now, but we did it routinely. And not coincidentally, remember kids coming to school with casts on their arms? When's the last time you've seen that now?

Posted by: Jay Guevara at December 20, 2014 12:52 PM (oKE6c)

73 Big Wheels FTFW!!! I want one of these...



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX4fCTO44Ic

Posted by: GGE of the Moron Horde, NC Chapter at December 20, 2014 12:54 PM (6fyGz)

74 Kung Fu grip! And don't forget your RevUp Evil Kneivel motorcycle!

Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 12:54 PM (bXdYS)

75 And something that carried on into my 20s 30s 40s, you're not having fun until someone is bleeding.

Not so much after 60 though.

Posted by: SouthTexas at December 20, 2014 12:54 PM (MlnZB)

76 ...The fact that they couldn't give one shit that you blew off your face with a Molotov cocktail might make them shitty parents....

The brighter kids only did that once.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, Curmudgeon Extraordinaire at December 20, 2014 12:54 PM (0HooB)

77 the MSM has convinced every mom in America that half of the population falls into that category.


Posted by: Jay Guevara at December 20, 2014 12:45 PM (oKE6c)

Thing is that back in the day, a pervert might indeed be a "local" news story, but the locals would make pretty sure it was a one-off perversion. Now, the same pervert has a Sony or Disney contract!

Posted by: Hrothgar at December 20, 2014 12:56 PM (fL/7/)

78 I disagree, when a pathology is nourished, it tends to flourish.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at December 20, 2014 12:48 PM (l1zOH)


Good point. "But it's just an alternative lifestyle!" Bullshit. It's a perversion.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at December 20, 2014 12:57 PM (oKE6c)

79 My Dad was in the Army Reserves for years and years after WW2 and had all sorts of Army Surplus and WW2 Jap stuff ( rifles and the such ) from IWO Jima and we played war all day long. Good stuff

Posted by: Nevergiveup at December 20, 2014 12:57 PM (Zmw74)

80 I am truly amazed any of my friends and I survived childhood.

Posted by: goatexchange at December 20, 2014 12:57 PM (sYUHT)

81 Once and a while I let my kids ride their bike sans helmet as it's pretty rural where we live. I know, someone call social services! Some of the looks these other parents give me is amazing. One lady at a park one day could barely hide my apparent lack of care for my kids.

Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 12:57 PM (bXdYS)

82 Not so much after 60 though.


Posted by: SouthTexas at December 20, 2014 12:54 PM (MlnZB)

It does tend to lose its appeal around then!

Posted by: Hrothgar at December 20, 2014 12:57 PM (fL/7/)

83 Most modern neighborhoods are differently structured than when I grew up. My parents, aunts, uncles knew an umbelievable number of people throughout the whole area where I grew up, so I wasn't going to get away with serious misbehavior, but I also knew that if I got into real trouble, there would be a friend of the family in the area. Most people back then were really aware of what was going on in their neighborhoods and outside their doors.

That's a fact. Growing up in the later 80s and 90s I used to ride my bike all over the neighborhood (and later pushed a mower around looking for work) but we really didn't know anyone apart from our next-door neighbors. Our situation was something between what older folks describe and the way my nieces are growing up now.

I have a little theory that the loss of the close-knit neighborhoods and geographically cohesive social networks is one of the root causes behind the expansion of the state - when people don't have local communities to keep folks on the straight and narrow by means of "soft" pressure (ostracism, etc.) and to help each other, they turn to government and formal hierarchies, which encourages the accumulation of laws, meddling etc.

Posted by: Grey Fox at December 20, 2014 12:57 PM (9QYej)

84 Did you ever make Gumby and Pokey perform unnatural acts and then, while in flagrante delicto, smother them in airplane glue and set them on fire?

I did.

Posted by: Ed Anger at December 20, 2014 12:58 PM (RcpcZ)

85 65
Pop rocks. And what were those things that you throw down on the concrete and they pop like firecrackers?



Sand poppers. They were one of the first things that the busybodies got rid of.

Posted by: Vic at December 20, 2014 12:58 PM (u9gzs)

86 Wrist Rocket + Jelly beans + squirrels, birds, (maybe also the mean dog down the street)

= FUN!

Posted by: JeanQ Flyover at December 20, 2014 01:00 PM (rhjQp)

87 I am ashamed at some of the acts our homemade "napalm" inflicted on a couple of platoons of my green army men. That's o.k. though, they were Nazi's and had it coming!

Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 01:00 PM (bXdYS)

88 It's ok. In the future kids will be allowed to run free In the streets again as they try to sell things to the rich Chinese tourists.

Posted by: New phone at December 20, 2014 01:00 PM (5Re00)

89 I grew up out West. So naturally, having High Noon-style 'gunfights' using Mexican bottle rockets is normal, right? Dirt clod fights, no-pad tackle football, hours in open desert, and Jart fights......?

Posted by: goatexchange at December 20, 2014 01:00 PM (sYUHT)

90 84 Did you ever make Gumby and Pokey perform unnatural acts and then, while in flagrante delicto, smother them in airplane glue and set them on fire?
I did.
Posted by: Ed Anger at December 20, 2014 12:58 PM (RcpcZ)




Worried about you, man ...

Posted by: Jay Guevara at December 20, 2014 01:00 PM (oKE6c)

91 I spent the majority of my free time on a lake or river, fishing. Alone. Or with my Dad or Grandpa, on weekends.

Not much of a shock that I'm a guide and an ati-social one, at that.

Posted by: garrett at December 20, 2014 01:00 PM (2oZXo)

92 Did you ever make Gumby and Pokey perform unnatural acts and then, while in flagrante delicto, smother them in airplane glue and set them on fire?

I did.


Posted by: Ed Anger at December 20, 2014 12:58 PM (RcpcZ)



>.>

*pedals faster*

Posted by: GGE of the Moron Horde, NC Chapter at December 20, 2014 01:00 PM (6fyGz)

93
#85 Sand poppers. They were one of the first things that the busybodies got rid of.

They're one of the few "fireworks" you can buy in PA.

Posted by: Ed Anger at December 20, 2014 01:00 PM (RcpcZ)

94 One could argue that your parents fostered you off to be babysat by
whatever shit you got into outside. The fact that they couldn't give
one shit that you blew off your face with a Molotov cocktail might make
them shitty parents. So, parenting hasn't changed, it's just the
destination.


I said "no one noticed", but that was an exaggeration. They noticed, and they cared. I got a fine lecture. What they didn't do was find it unexpected that I would do something like that, or freak out that I had.

Dad's a pediatrician, and a good one ("Best in Baltimore" for years running until he retired), but his mantra was one part "kids bounce", one part "They're tougher than you think" and one part "If all the parts are in the same room they'll heal".

Posted by: Weirddave at December 20, 2014 01:00 PM (KAmzK)

95 Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 12:57 PM (bXdYS)

Neither I nor my kids had any idea what a bike helmet was!

I hesitate to tell some of the tales about their childhoods my father and his brothers regaled us kids with!

Or:

I hesitate to tell some of the tales about their childhoods with which my father and his brothers regaled us kids!

Posted by: Hrothgar at December 20, 2014 01:01 PM (fL/7/)

96
I remember blowing my face off with black powder on vacation in Maine.



I see you've met my brother.

Posted by: DaveA at December 20, 2014 01:01 PM (DL2i+)

97 Hamas: Israeli strike in Gaza is a 'dangerous escalation'
IAF struck Hamas training facility near Khan Younis in retaliation to rocket fire at Israeli south; Hamas official: The resistance has the right to respond to the Israeli aggression at the time and place it chooses.


Hamas is about to throw the upcoming Israeli Election to Netanyahu .

Posted by: Nevergiveup at December 20, 2014 01:01 PM (Zmw74)

98 Seatbelts! Who needed seatbelts or airbags when you had the mom safety restraint system. Which consisted of her arm being thrown across you when a collision was imminent.

Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 01:02 PM (bXdYS)

99 The fact that they couldn't give
one shit that you blew off your face with a Molotov cocktail


It was the black powder that blew my face off. The Molotov cocktail just got my eyebrows. Try to keep up, will you?

Posted by: Weirddave at December 20, 2014 01:02 PM (KAmzK)

100 I used to set ants and catipillars on fire with my magnifying glass

Posted by: Nevergiveup at December 20, 2014 01:02 PM (Zmw74)

101 When's the last time you heard someone tell a kid to "walk it off?"


Effing Oprah has so much to answer for wrt the feminization of the nation.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at December 20, 2014 01:02 PM (oKE6c)

102 " Growing up in the later 80s and 90s"


Same here.

Group up on a ranch about 15 miles from town so not really any other kids to play with much. Occasionally a neighbor who had kids might bring them over when they visited. Spent a lot time walking the pastures with my trusty .22 pump shooting at various things or go fishing.

Older brother got an Atari around '81 but I didn't get a Nintendo until I was 12 or so. Had a go-cart but it was notoriously unreliable.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 20, 2014 01:02 PM (BNIaE)

103 As a kid, I had an affinity for toy wind-up tanks. Nothing better than terrifying a Lincoln Log village with a tank assault.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at December 20, 2014 01:04 PM (l1zOH)

104 Did you ever make Gumby and Pokey perform unnatural acts and then, while in flagrante delicto, smother them in airplane glue and set them on fire?

I did.


No, but a certain big GI Joe could never stay away from my friend's little sister's Malibu Barbie.

Dude got laid. A. Lot.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, Curmudgeon Extraordinaire at December 20, 2014 01:04 PM (0HooB)

105 Surprised no one has mentioned Goonies yet.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at December 20, 2014 01:04 PM (wfOci)

106 I guess my worse injury growing up was either

A) cutting my right index finger wide open trying to open a Campbell's Soup can- bloody mess- and my mom was pretty cool about it- wrapped my hand pretty good so I did not bleed all over the car

B) getting hit in the nose with a baseball because I am a Fuckin Idiot

Posted by: Nevergiveup at December 20, 2014 01:04 PM (Zmw74)

107 "Who needed seatbelts or airbags when you had the mom safety restraint system."


I can remember my dad taking the seat belts out of a couple of cars because they were "getting in the way."

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 20, 2014 01:04 PM (BNIaE)

108 Posted by: Grey Fox at December 20, 2014 12:57 PM (9QYej)

Sadly, I think that we are going to see your little theory applied to an entire nation in the last two year's of Caliph Obama's Rule!

Posted by: Hrothgar at December 20, 2014 01:06 PM (fL/7/)

109 "Who needed seatbelts or airbags when you had the mom safety restraint system."


I can remember my dad taking the seat belts out of a couple of cars because they were "getting in the way."
Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 20, 2014 01:04 PM (BNIaE)

We used sit in the back cargo bay of my neighbor's Station wagon with the 2 dogs and hanging a rope out the back and waving at the people behind us

Posted by: Nevergiveup at December 20, 2014 01:06 PM (Zmw74)

110 106 A) cutting my right index finger wide open trying to
open a Campbell's Soup can- bloody mess- and my mom was pretty cool
about it- wrapped my hand pretty good so I did not bleed all over the
car



B) getting hit in the nose with a baseball because I am a Fuckin Idiot

Posted by: Nevergiveup at December 20, 2014 01:04 PM (Zmw74)


Brother and I took an empty oyster can out of the trash and were using it for ball with a broom stick. Caught me just above the eye. Blood everywhere and had to have stitches.

Posted by: Vic at December 20, 2014 01:06 PM (u9gzs)

111
We napalmed our toy soldiers with melting styrofoam cups. They made a really cool zip, zip noise as the burning, molten globs of plastic dripped off.

And we made bunkers, filled them with toy soldiers, and "bombed" them by putting firecrackers inside. The soldiers that fell down were counted as dead, the leaning ones were wounded and those left standing were survivors. Of course, that only happened around the 4th of July -- the rest of the year we used dirt clods.

Posted by: Ed Anger at December 20, 2014 01:07 PM (RcpcZ)

112 Home-made stilts were a fad. And of course, the higher/taller, the better. I think the neighborhood score before the fad wore off was three broken arms.

Posted by: goatexchange at December 20, 2014 01:08 PM (sYUHT)

113 When I was 12 I made an electric arc furnace by punching holes in the opposite sides of a flower pot, sharpening the carbon rods from batteries in a pencil sharpener and wiring them up to an old lamp cord, plugging the damned thing in, then touching the tips of the rods until they glowed red, then slowly separating the rods to strike the arc.

It was amazing. Blinding (literally - lots of UV) light, and you can melt anything in an electric arc furnace. Plus, lots of ways to get killed if you do it wrong.


Nowadays, as an added bonus, you'd probably take out every wi-fi for blocks from the RF interference, since the arc is basically a transmitter blasting out white radiation.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at December 20, 2014 01:08 PM (oKE6c)

114 "We used sit in the back cargo bay of my neighbor's Station wagon with
the 2 dogs and hanging a rope out the back and waving at the people
behind us"


It was a better time.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 20, 2014 01:08 PM (BNIaE)

115 I have a work friend who started reading those parenting magazines as soon as she got pregnant. She would obsess over whether or not to get a particular vaccine (because there's a 0.01% chance of X!) or that her kid would drown in 1" of water, or that her play pen would be defective and collapse, etc. So it's not just the horror stories about perverts that are getting into a parent's subconscious, it's all of the other magazine and local news / Dateline / 20/20 style reporting (Which household item may be secretly poisoning your kids!).

Pair this fear mongering with (sadly) parents spending less actual time with their kids because of work, so they're less attuned to the normal play patterns, used to handling "risky" behavior, etc. Sad.

Posted by: Lizzy at December 20, 2014 01:08 PM (ABcz/)

116 We napalmed our toy soldiers with melting styrofoam cups. They made a really cool zip, zip noise as the burning, molten globs of plastic dripped off.

And we made bunkers, filled them with toy soldiers, and "bombed" them by putting firecrackers inside. The soldiers that fell down were counted as dead, the leaning ones were wounded and those left standing were survivors. Of course, that only happened around the 4th of July -- the rest of the year we used dirt clods.


Posted by: Ed Anger at December 20, 2014 01:07 PM

Same here. Allot of good plastic men were lost in some epic napalm and bombing strikes. Pro tip, a burning stryofoam cup or piece of nylon wire hurts like hell if it lands on you. Not that I would know.

Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 01:10 PM (bXdYS)

117 I think my whole town just flat didn't give a shit about the safety of us children.

They built an outdoor icerink, and said "have at it."

No one was there supervising. No one manned it. There was a little hut to put your skates on, and I think a pay phone to call home. Man, thinking back that was a lawsuit waiting to happen, but we freaking loved that place.

Posted by: Lauren at December 20, 2014 01:10 PM (MYCIw)

118 I remember when pop cans didn't have pulltabs-- you had to use a punch can-opener!

Then, along came the pull-rings (and the chains we made with them) and sometimes getting our bare feet cut, stepping on one...

Posted by: JeanQ Flyover at December 20, 2014 01:10 PM (rhjQp)

119 I'm a veteran of the Great Dirt Clod War to end all Dirt Clod Wars. 1977-1978.

Ha, a youngster, all us survivors of the 1st Dirt Clod war were off working on our drug addictions by then. The 1st Dirt Clod war was at the hill right across the street, dump truck loads from all over piled on the edge, climbing back up in the face of rolled kid sized clumps of SW PA clay, All ended with tears, spankings, etc. when littlest V took one to the face that needed stitches (a lot of stitches) and Mrs V busted every boy in the neighborhood.

Posted by: DaveA at December 20, 2014 01:10 PM (DL2i+)

120 I grew up in 50's, 60's Baltimore county.What freedom to explore! We stayed out til late in evening during Summer. Our gang always met in woods and came up with all kinds of exploring or games. LOved "capture the flag". We rode bikes without helmets, walked to store alone, played in stream behind house, I could go on and on!

Posted by: shelby at December 20, 2014 01:11 PM (QK3nd)

121 Home-made stilts were a fad. And of course, the higher/taller, the better. I think the neighborhood score before the fad wore off was three broken arms.

I remember those.

There were also a few kids who'd take a regular bicycle frame and turn it upside down to make a "bike on stilts." It felt like you were riding about 50 ft in the air and took a couple of kids to get you going.

Good times.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, Curmudgeon Extraordinaire at December 20, 2014 01:12 PM (0HooB)

122
I guess my worse injury growing up was either



A) cutting my right index finger wide open trying to open a
Campbell's Soup can- bloody mess- and my mom was pretty cool about it-
wrapped my hand pretty good so I did not bleed all over the car



B) getting hit in the nose with a baseball because I am a Fuckin Idiot

Posted by: Nevergiveup at December 20, 2014 01:04 PM (Zmw74)



Beaning hook, had it stuck through the strap on the seat of my CL-350 Honda, walked around the back of the bike and cut my leg wide open on it. Didn't even notice till I threw my leg over the bike. Dad was with me on his Suzuki, he had some black tape in his saddlebag and a red rag, so we taped it right up and went home where I got a butterfly bandage or three for it. Probably should have gone and gotten it sewed up, still have the scar.

Posted by: GGE of the Moron Horde, NC Chapter at December 20, 2014 01:12 PM (6fyGz)

123 Attention Horde, we need to get a film grant for a documentary called How Did We Survive?

Sure sell it as a cautionary tale of all the crazy things kids did, but it will be subversive as all heck because of the fun.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at December 20, 2014 01:13 PM (wfOci)

124
Last Child in the Woods is an award winning book about the need for children to be able to play outdoors..


http://richardlouv.com/books/last-child/videos/

Posted by: Jen the original at December 20, 2014 01:13 PM (cPPlg)

125 Eh. My childhood pretty much sucked ass, so I have almost no sense of nostalgia for it. However, I have watched the continuous pussification of our country's culture, especially its schools, and how it affects today's children. I am not happy about it at all.

Posted by: Insomniac at December 20, 2014 01:13 PM (mx5oN)

126 106 I guess my worse injury growing up was either
A) cutting my right index finger wide open trying to open a Campbell's Soup can- bloody mess- and my mom was pretty cool about it- wrapped my hand pretty good so I did not bleed all over the car
B) getting hit in the nose with a baseball because I am a Fuckin Idiot
Posted by: Nevergiveup at December 20, 2014 01:04 PM (Zmw74)



Mine was during a dirt clod fight in piles of construction sand, into which a local member of La Raza had thoughtfully included a piece of broken glass when he made up his snowball-like projectile. It cut my cheek open, leaving a scar I have to this day.

After we moved, the same kid and his little brother were showing a neighbor a mortar round Dad had somehow obtained. According to the news clipping (which a neighbor sent us), ese tripped, dropping the round, which exploded (it was probably just the detonator, obviously not an intact round), seriously injuring the Anglo neighbor, while our friends from south of the border just dusted themselves off. They were fine, but for ringing ears.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at December 20, 2014 01:14 PM (oKE6c)

127
And for some reason(?) Dad freaked out big time when oldest bro brought home a dead water moccasin he'd killed with a gig.

Posted by: Ed Anger at December 20, 2014 01:14 PM (RcpcZ)

128 This post is my childhood (disclaimer, I had no dad) in a nutshell.
Baseball, fishing (4-6 of us in 4th-6th grade going to the river by ourselves), all of it.
Was it all great? No.
But you learn from the bad things too.
Oh. The time frame? I was almost nine when the Beatles were on Sullivan.
And small and mid size Kansas towns.

Posted by: teej says go K-State at December 20, 2014 01:15 PM (aVY3U)

129 A bicycle, a bb gun, a fishing pole and a dog - plus two older brothers to kick my ass.

We used to catch and sell bait to buy tackle.

Posted by: Fritz at December 20, 2014 01:15 PM (dVmLD)

130 I remember when a bicycle was your most prized possesion, your key to the world

Posted by: The Jackhole somewhere on Ventura Highway at December 20, 2014 12:18 PM (dULJN)




I was just talking about this to some younger coworkers the other day; about how at that time (early to mid 80s) BMX bikes were in vogue and I was stuck with a hand-me-down from my brother. All friends had the latest Diamondback or Mongoose with the Chromoly frame and I was rolling around on a pea green Schwinn with ape hangers and a banana seat. And I'd kill to have that bike back now.

Posted by: Country Singer at December 20, 2014 01:15 PM (nL0sw)

131 Oh. The time frame? I was almost nine when the Beatles were on Sullivan.
And small and mid size Kansas towns.
Posted by: teej says go K-State at December 20, 2014 01:15 PM (aVY3U)

Methuselah, is that you?

Posted by: Insomniac at December 20, 2014 01:15 PM (mx5oN)

132 Nood gardening.

Posted by: Y-not at December 20, 2014 01:16 PM (9BRsg)

133 No one was there supervising. No one manned it. There was a little hut to put your skates on, and I think a pay phone to call home. Man, thinking back that was a lawsuit waiting to happen, but we freaking loved that place.

Another thing we never see anymore that I'd like to see revived are the signs that said "Use at your own risk."

And if the courts would enforce it, which will never happen. But a Boy can dream.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, Curmudgeon Extraordinaire at December 20, 2014 01:16 PM (0HooB)

134 132 Nood gardening.

Posted by: Y-not at December 20, 2014 01:16 PM (9BRsg)

That doesn't sound like a good idea at all. Potting soil in the bits and all that...

Posted by: Insomniac at December 20, 2014 01:16 PM (mx5oN)

135 "I guess my worse injury growing up"


Broke my left arm twice between the ages of 5-12.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 20, 2014 01:16 PM (BNIaE)

136 Wonderful post. *tips hat*

Mum said continuously "Go outside and play."
She also said. "Quit running in and out."

Those two things together mean, "You get on my nerves." I was a clinger.

I am certain she told my older brother to tolerate my presence, because we suddenly started hanging out. Previously it was "your shoes are on the wrong feet, go home and switch them."

Then, "You got it wrong, go back home and change them."

Then, "Your socks are on the wrong feet, go home and change them."

I can take a hint. I may be 4 but you don't have to drop a house on me." Bastard.

Living on USAF radar sites and bases help a lot in getting outside to explore. "No trespassing" meant nothing to us, words in a foreign language. "High Voltage" read as invitation. "Private Property Keep Out" double fencing with razor top wire, all mere suggestion. Downed airplanes dragged off to the side of runway tarmac, evocative beacons "come hither and take what you can." Burning dump sites, real playgrounds.

My nephews are as described here. All of them have no interest at all in the world of outdoors.

Posted by: bour3 at December 20, 2014 01:17 PM (5x3+2)

137 BB gun wars.
Blowing up models with firecrackers.
Dirt clod wars
Snowball wars until a rock got put in the middle of one and then ice ball wars.
Hunting grasshoppers and lizards by hand, rabbits by 22.
Playing army.
Playing apartment house tag. Broken arm.
Making treehouses.
Climbing every kind of tree.

Almost everything I did is now a felony.

Posted by: Jukin at December 20, 2014 01:18 PM (WGm5T)

138 Jay Guevara:

Thanks for the arc furnace instructions. Now I have to build one.

Posted by: Ed Anger at December 20, 2014 01:19 PM (RcpcZ)

139 124 Posted by: Jen the original at December 20, 2014 01:13 PM (cPPlg)
-------------------------

Thanks for the link. Looks like a really interesting book.

Posted by: Hoplite Housewife at December 20, 2014 01:19 PM (54JS6)

140 " Schwinn with ape hangers and a banana seat"



Old banana seat pilot myself. You could pop some made wheelies with that thing.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 20, 2014 01:19 PM (BNIaE)

141 I remember when a bicycle was your most prized possesion, your key to the world

Posted by: The Jackhole somewhere on Ventura Highway at December 20, 2014 12:18 PM (dULJN)


You mean other than your nudie magazines right?

Posted by: Nevergiveup at December 20, 2014 01:19 PM (Zmw74)

142 I was just talking about this to some younger
coworkers the other day; about how at that time (early to mid 80s) BMX
bikes were in vogue and I was stuck with a hand-me-down from my brother.
All friends had the latest Diamondback or Mongoose with the Chromoly
frame and I was rolling around on a pea green Schwinn with ape hangers
and a banana seat. And I'd kill to have that bike back now.

Posted by: Country Singer at December 20, 2014 01:15 PM (nL0sw)


Heh, when I was twelve or so my best friend was the "best bike mechanic in town" so all the kids would bring their bikes to him to get fixed (usually tightening a chain or changing a tube). When their bikes got trashed he ended up with them, so he had a corner of the garage filled with bike parts (and a dad who constantly bitched about it). When we'd get enough parts we'd build another bike. Fun times, fun times...

Posted by: GGE of the Moron Horde, NC Chapter at December 20, 2014 01:19 PM (6fyGz)

143 Tough to garden below freezing. Well that and living basically in the woods makes it tough to grow grass even. Well Ill see it in 5 short months. Ugh.

Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 01:19 PM (bXdYS)

144 I remember when a bicycle was your most prized possesion, your key to the world
Posted by: The Jackhole somewhere on Ventura Highway at December 20, 2014 12:18 PM (dULJN)



When's the last time you saw a kid riding a bike for transportation? I see bikes on bike carriers on cars, but never see a kid just jump on his bike to go somewhere (including school).


For that matter, when's the last time you saw kids playing touch football in the street?

Posted by: Jay Guevara at December 20, 2014 01:20 PM (oKE6c)

145 For that matter, when's the last time you saw kids playing touch football in the street?
Posted by: Jay Guevara at December 20, 2014 01:20 PM (oKE6c)


Yup we played that all day long.
And tackle on the lawn

Posted by: Nevergiveup at December 20, 2014 01:21 PM (Zmw74)

146 One of my most traumatic events in my childhood was the night my new bike was stolen. An orange brand new 1978 Huffy.

Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 01:22 PM (bXdYS)

147 "When's the last time you saw a kid riding a bike for transportation?"


Saw some kids on manual scooters this morning. Had to stop and wait for them to get out of the road.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 20, 2014 01:22 PM (BNIaE)

148 The tall hills of our youth look like mere humps now. Still, great memories.

Posted by: John F Not Kerry at December 20, 2014 01:23 PM (YkgV3)

149 People today are a lot more adverse to risks, I think, not just parents. My theory it is the loss of the old Judeo-Christian concept of the world as fallen and an inherently dangerous place in consequence. Patterns of thought derived from religious beliefs persist in a society even after the formal beliefs disappear or grow less overtly influential, and I think that this pattern of thought help temper the optimism that a lot of people had about scientific progress. Well, nowadays people still have the idea in the back of their minds that science and a properly molded society will eventually bring perfect peace and safety, but don't have the idea of sin and an incurably flawed world to balance it out anymore, so they are increasingly disturbed by dangers that our forefathers would have taken in stride.

Posted by: Grey Fox at December 20, 2014 01:23 PM (9QYej)

150 "One of my most traumatic events in my childhood was the night my new bike was stolen."


Bastards.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 20, 2014 01:23 PM (BNIaE)

151 138 Jay Guevara:
Thanks for the arc furnace instructions. Now I have to build one.
Posted by: Ed Anger at December 20, 2014 01:19 PM (RcpcZ)



You know, I'd be nervous doing that now, but didn't give it a thought then. Pro tip: use the old trick of keeping one hand in your pocket when you adjust the electrodes (so you don't risk getting mains current through the heart).


Oh, and please forget where you got this idea. Thanks.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at December 20, 2014 01:23 PM (oKE6c)

152
Saw some kids on manual scooters this morning. Had to stop and wait for them to get out of the road.
Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 20, 2014 01:22 PM (BNIaE)

Did you shake your fist at them at yell "YOU PUNK KIDS!"?

Posted by: Insomniac at December 20, 2014 01:23 PM (mx5oN)

153 After Evil Kinevil movie making ramps for jumping bikes. Instead of cars or buses we used litller kids.
Having football or baseball games against the other kid organized teams.
Flying those 29 cent rubberband balsa wood propeller planes.
Crow hunting.
Scrounging through trash cans for the nickel deposit bottles for nickel priced ice cream bars.

Posted by: Jukin at December 20, 2014 01:24 PM (WGm5T)

154 I was lucky to only break one bone (a toe from a jungle gym accident), but had many cuts, bruises and splinters. Got a nasty cut from my swiss army knife. We gave our son one when he was in 4th grade and I told him about my injury and how to be careful using the knife. And of course, he cut his finger, didn't tell me about it for a week, and got a nasty infection. Survived it, and has been extra careful ever since. Some things you just have to experience to learn.

Posted by: Lizzy at December 20, 2014 01:24 PM (ABcz/)

155 Lovely post, Dave.

I suspect I will end my life as one of those women I pitied, such as my mother, who was born, raised, lived, and died all within 5 mile radius. Well, my radius is more like 40 miles, but still...

Never, not once, have I passed through the small town of my upbringing and not driven down Main Street, past the lot where I grew up, across the street from the school I attended. Never have I been in a relationship during which, at some point, I didn't drag my fella down that same street, down to the end of the pavement, to the boat ramp where my friends and I fought the strong current of Black Creek during our daily swim.

At that school, my friends and I played ball and got bloody noses from pop-ups we missed. We played with sparklers, and raced our bikes and our go-karts. Once, we found an unlocked door and sneaked in and stole some art supplies for which we were then promptly busted, attributable to the fact that we used said art supplies to graffiti our names on the outside wall of a building.

We climbed trees, and slid head-first down the slide. We skateboarded on the roofs of the walkways.

I blackened my eyes, stepped barefooted on a broken bottle, scraped off the top of my foot while skateboarding, and nearly lost a finger when I dragged it across the chain of my go-kart whilst reaching for the governor (just a little more speed, please!).

At Christmas I received the biggest bounty of sporting goods in the town and was, unsurprisingly, very popular with the boys for at least a couple of weeks following Christmas each year.

I got into fistfights with the boys and won my fair share. Afterwards, we played marbles or jacks and then, a few years later, we played doctor.

It was not an ideal childhood due to the fact that my mother was batshit crazy and my father had never materialized, but my grandparents did all they could to cover for those facts.

I survived. And thrived. And raised a good child based upon the lessons I learned as a child.

It is, indeed, of great concern, the innocence lost, as the children of today are exposed to near-pornographic shampoo commercials and all-you-can eat entertainment at the touch of a button. They don't have to work for anything of value and their parents consider that a marker of success.... for themselves.

What would it say about me if Liam had to collect bottles and cans to fund his hobby?!

I can't have Apple wearing hand-me-downs! People will think I can't afford new clothes!

Children have survived better, and worse, and I suspect they'll find their way through these challenges as well. Unfortunately, it may not occur until they've reached the nadir of their childhood.

Somewhere around the age of twenty-six.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at December 20, 2014 01:25 PM (DmNpO)

156 I was a bookworm nerd who'd rather be home reading than outside playing, but I still managed to break my arm running down a hill in the rain, and get whumped on the head running straight into a parking lot wire that happened to be neck high to me (seriously, on a playground) - I had a garrote-like welt on my neck and probably a concussion.
My mom said I also fell down the stairs 3 times before I turned three.
So childhood, yeah, its not for sissies.

Posted by: @votermom at December 20, 2014 01:26 PM (cbfNE)

157 148 The tall hills of our youth look like mere humps now. Still, great memories.
Posted by: John F Not Kerry at December 20, 2014 01:23 PM (YkgV3)



Isn't that strange? I went back to my old high school, and was struck by how small things seemed, despite the fact that I was over six feet tall by the time I turned 15.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at December 20, 2014 01:26 PM (oKE6c)

158 Thanks for the arc furnace instructions. Now I have to build one.


Posted by: Ed Anger at December 20, 2014 01:19 PM (RcpcZ)

Just what I was thinking! Off to the garage!

Posted by: Hrothgar at December 20, 2014 01:27 PM (fL/7/)

159 Thanks for the arc furnace instructions.

You'll be hearing from my lawyers. Both of you.

Posted by: Tony Stark at December 20, 2014 01:27 PM (mx5oN)

160 "Did you shake your fist at them at yell "YOU PUNK KIDS!"?"


Heh.


No. But they didn't see or hear me until I was on top of them.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 20, 2014 01:27 PM (BNIaE)

161 *shoots the silly Brit author on The Crazy History of Star Wars*

Everyone was reading The Golden Bough he claims. Really? All twelve volumes? I seriously doubt everyone could have waded through them because, like Joseph Campbell's four books The Masks of God, they are a hard slog.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at December 20, 2014 01:29 PM (wfOci)

162 158 Thanks for the arc furnace instructions. Now I have to build one.
Posted by: Ed Anger at December 20, 2014 01:19 PM (RcpcZ)
Just what I was thinking! Off to the garage!
Posted by: Hrothgar at December 20, 2014 01:27 PM (fL/7/)




I've created a monster! Two of 'em, in fact!


Actually, it is a lot of fun, especially being able to melt anything. IIRC, even the tips of the electrodes appear to melt a bit. Melting carbon - now that's the real deal.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at December 20, 2014 01:29 PM (oKE6c)

163 The tall hills of our youth look like mere humps now. Still, great memories.

****

My hill was the total opposite. I look at it now and wonder HTH I survived a skateboard trip down it.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at December 20, 2014 01:30 PM (DmNpO)

164 Heh, I'm tempted to suggest the arc furnace to the younger kid as a science project.

Oh, I also remember having to get tetanus shots after stepping on a huge nail. It's not my fault they didn't childproof the gravel pile in the construction area I was playing in ( I think my dad was building some kind cement thingy project)

Posted by: @votermom at December 20, 2014 01:30 PM (cbfNE)

165 No. But they didn't see or hear me until I was on top of them.

****

You can thank Beats for that.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at December 20, 2014 01:30 PM (DmNpO)

166 My third grandson was born this morning. As happy as I am, I'm also sad that he will never experience the childhood that I had, or the kind of America that made that childhood possible.

Posted by: That SOB Van Owen at December 20, 2014 01:31 PM (8XFab)

167 158 Thanks for the arc furnace instructions. Now I have to build one.
Posted by: Ed Anger at December 20, 2014 01:19 PM (RcpcZ)
Just what I was thinking! Off to the garage!
Posted by: Hrothgar at December 20, 2014 01:27 PM (fL/7/)




I hope you guys are kidding, but seriously, if not, make sure you wear glasses or other eye protection, because an arc furnace generates massive amounts of hard UV light that'll fry your eyes. Just like an arc welder, which is pretty much the same thing.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at December 20, 2014 01:31 PM (oKE6c)

168 Another thing that just crossed my mind: to this day, I have difficulty throwing a regulation football. Why? because the football I mostly threw with growing up had been my dad's when he was a kid. It was shorter in length and fatter around the middle than newer ones and I've never adjusted to the change in how I grip the football.

Posted by: Country Singer at December 20, 2014 01:32 PM (nL0sw)

169 Congrats, van Owen.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 20, 2014 01:33 PM (BNIaE)

170 There is a hill that I rode down on my bike as a teenager at night (twice) that I still thank God that I made it down with no problems either time. Anything in the road, even a small rock, could have killed me. Before helmets (early 80's).

Posted by: John F Not Kerry at December 20, 2014 01:33 PM (YkgV3)

171 Congrats on the new grandkid, Van Owen!

Posted by: @votermom at December 20, 2014 01:34 PM (EH8dt)

172 My third grandson was born this morning. As happy as I am, I'm also sad that he will never experience the childhood that I had, or the kind of America that made that childhood possible.
Posted by: That SOB Van Owen at December 20, 2014 01:31 PM (8XFab)


have faith, when the civil war and apocolypse comes, and it is coming, we will all be out in the woods fighting the oppressors. So be of good cheer on this Holiday Season

Posted by: Nevergiveup at December 20, 2014 01:34 PM (Zmw74)

173 My hometown had a Carnegie library, a massive stone and brick structure with soaring ceilings and grand staircases and rows upon massive rows of books...


That library is closed now, everything moved to the new library built on the site of my junior high school (which is now part of the large structure built onto my elementary school) and surprisingly enough, it isn't as big or as grand as I remember. Kind of smallish, actually, with steeper stairs than I remembered. Still a cool old building though, because it is a Carnegie library the town still keeps it up.

Posted by: GGE of the Moron Horde, NC Chapter at December 20, 2014 01:34 PM (6fyGz)

174 Instructions on how to build an ARC furnace here on this smart military blog. I hope Ace has good insurance.

Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 01:34 PM (bXdYS)

175 Instructions on how to build an ARC furnace here on this smart military blog. I hope Ace has good insurance.
Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 01:34 PM (bXdYS)


Fuck the insurance, I hope he has a good lawyer

Posted by: NSA/FBI at December 20, 2014 01:35 PM (Zmw74)

176 >>>I hope you guys are kidding, but seriously, if not, make sure you wear
glasses or other eye protection, because an arc furnace generates
massive amounts of hard UV light that'll fry your eyes. Just like an arc
welder, which is pretty much the same thing.<<<

And don't pop Mom's circuit breaker while she's watching the soaps or you'll be grounded for a week.

Posted by: Fritz at December 20, 2014 01:35 PM (dVmLD)

177 Some years ago, I went back to the concrete and cinder block monstrosity
that was the playground at my elementary school. It had huge amphitheater-type steps, wooden poles that
inflicted splinters and tall sections with no railings. I was terrified of
it as a child and, seeing it as an adult, marveled at how truly unsafe it was, at least by today's standards. Whoever
designed it must have hated kids and been a fan of the Brutalist school of architecture. That said, I don't recall anyone getting
seriously hurt and the teachers didn't do much to supervise.

Not surprisingly, it has since been replaced with a much kinder and gentler, as well as code-compliant, structures.

And congratulations, Van Owen!

Posted by: Hoplite Housewife at December 20, 2014 01:36 PM (54JS6)

178 Congratulations on the grandkid, Van Owen!

Posted by: Lizzy at December 20, 2014 01:36 PM (ABcz/)

179 My childhood was in the 60's and my teens were in the 70's and I had a similar experience. We were left to explore and then come home for supper and in bed when the streetlights came on. Everybody knew each other in the neighborhood and watched out for each other and their kids. I was as much my neighbor's kid and my own parents. I remember falling off my bike one day and breaking open my knee. My Mom was more worried about getting Mecurochrome on the carpet than my knee. She knew I'd be okay. We brought our baseball bats and gloves to school for games during recess. We never asked permission, it was just assumed that we would. Can you even imagine such a thing today? Now I hearing that some schools are banning playground equipment because kids get hurt. No games, no equipment...what are kids supposed to do? Wander around in a field behind the school for 10 minutes? I could go on and on but society expects you to bubble wrap your kids these days and be a helicopter parent. If do don't, they try to take your kid away and sometimes are successful.

Posted by: Ah, the Old Days at December 20, 2014 01:36 PM (wypgC)

180 Don't worry Jay -- I plan on using larger electrodes from eBay and an adjustment mechanism from an arc lamp. Everything will be fully insulated. And I'll get some welder's glass.

I'm also toying with first running the wall current through a 4,000 volt neon transformer first. I understand that higher voltage makes for a larger spark gap.

Posted by: Ed Anger at December 20, 2014 01:37 PM (RcpcZ)

181 >>>Fuck the insurance, I hope he has a good lawyer<<<

Mind if we look around?

Posted by: FCC at December 20, 2014 01:37 PM (dVmLD)

182 180
Video required.

Posted by: @votermom at December 20, 2014 01:38 PM (EH8dt)

183 "Mind if we look around?"


Ah, fcuk.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 20, 2014 01:39 PM (BNIaE)

184 Not quite Methuselah Insomniac, but my body feels like it at times,,, times like now. Tore my left knee meniscus Tues before Thanksgiving which gave rise to a case of shingles a week later.
It. Really. Sucks. And hurts.

Posted by: teej says go K-State at December 20, 2014 01:39 PM (aVY3U)

185 My elementary school had a tennis court.


???


Like we were going to play tennis in the second grade. Ha. We played a game with a red rubber ball that was sort of a cross between volleyball and dodgeball, if you could hit the ball back across you were OK but if you hit the ball and it didn't go back across you had to go sit out until the game was over.

Posted by: GGE of the Moron Horde, NC Chapter at December 20, 2014 01:40 PM (6fyGz)

186 Oldtimey plaster cast on the arm was a superb tool for moving people out of the way. Left arm still a little short after the compound fracture. Cool double elbow effect.

Posted by: Man from Wazzustan at December 20, 2014 01:40 PM (uPxUo)

187 Posted by: GGE of the Moron Horde, NC Chapter at December 20, 2014 01:34 PM (6fyGz)


Same thing in my hometown. I love that building; going there (and we went often) was to me that slice of sophisticated life, with all of the marble, the hushed tones, the smell of the old wood, the leather covered reading chairs, and the faintly creaking floors. It's what I imagined it was like to be in a mansion.

I'm glad ours is still standing, even if it's not the library any more. These days it's the offices of our local Chamber of Commerce, but the Rotary Club still meets in the basement as it has for many decades.

Posted by: Country Singer at December 20, 2014 01:41 PM (nL0sw)

188 Arc furnace? I remember electrolyzing molten sodium hydroxide, and watching little silvery bubbles of liquid sodium rise to the top of the test tube and burst into flame. Good times.


I grew up in Vancouver, B.C., so I could ride my bike to a pier, and fish off the end of the pier for shiners and rockfish. And, of course, me and my buddies would build bombs and rockets and stuff.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 20, 2014 01:41 PM (gvtTX)

189 We used to bring our .22's on the bus to bring to our gun safety class. We'd bring them into the principals office and pick them up at the end of school. Nowadays a fucking plastic fork puts it on lockdown.

Anyone remember the nuclear war drills? LOL

Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 01:41 PM (bXdYS)

190 180 Don't worry Jay -- I plan on using larger electrodes from eBay and an adjustment mechanism from an arc lamp. Everything will be fully insulated. And I'll get some welder's glass.
I'm also toying with first running the wall current through a 4,000 volt neon transformer first. I understand that higher voltage makes for a larger spark gap.
Posted by: Ed Anger at December 20, 2014 01:37 PM (RcpcZ)



A man after my own heart.


I used to use the same principle in doing lecture demonstrations: if it wasn't hairy, it was boring. Part of the drama of a good lecture demonstration is the possibility of its going seriously awry.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at December 20, 2014 01:43 PM (oKE6c)

191 Our elementary school playground was concrete.
There was always some kids who went straight to the nurse's office after recess with skinned knees.

Posted by: @votermom at December 20, 2014 01:43 PM (myWqM)

192 "Anyone remember the nuclear war drills? LOL"


Didn't have those but we had tornado drills. Could happen any time. Everyone filed in the hall, assumed a fetal position on your knees while holding one of your school books over your head.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 20, 2014 01:44 PM (BNIaE)

193 I'm also toying with first running the wall current
through a 4,000 volt neon transformer first. I understand that higher
voltage makes for a larger spark gap.


Posted by: Ed Anger at December 20, 2014 01:37 PM (RcpcZ)


Nix on the transformer. You could get a nice long arc, but with little heat in it. And if you close up the gap, you will burn out the transformer. You could make a nifty arc furnace with just 12 volts from a car battery.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 20, 2014 01:45 PM (gvtTX)

194 Bill Cosby pre rapey Bill Cosby had a good bit on how the old playground equipment was parents ways of trying to bump us off.

Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 01:45 PM (bXdYS)

195 Anyone remember the nuclear war drills? LOL
Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 01:41 PM (bXdYS)

Yeah. My ass was usually hanging out from under my desk

Posted by: NSA/FBI at December 20, 2014 01:45 PM (Zmw74)

196 "Anyone remember the nuclear war drills? LOL"


Didn't have those but we had tornado drills. Could happen any time. Everyone filed in the hall, assumed a fetal position on your knees while holding one of your school books over your head.


Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 20, 2014 01:44 PM
...................I never thought about it until years later, why we somehow thought getting under a hunk of wood was going to help I don't know. Now it's lockdown drills.

Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 01:47 PM (bXdYS)

197 188 Arc furnace? I remember electrolyzing molten sodium hydroxide, and watching little silvery bubbles of liquid sodium rise to the top of the test tube and burst into flame. Good times.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 20, 2014 01:41 PM (gvtTX)



VERY cool.


Ever run the thermite reaction? I'd spend days patiently filing a piece of aluminum into aluminum powder, then mix it with iron oxide (again in a flower pot), stick a piece of magnesium ribbon in the mixture, light it, and stand back. Very impressive, and once it gets going, red-hot molten iron runs out the bottom of the flower pot.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at December 20, 2014 01:47 PM (oKE6c)

198 I do so wish a song my friend wrote, Junior's Field, was available somewhere. It is every small town ball field in this country and triggers these memories every time we play it.
I've posted the lyrics here once or twice.

Posted by: teej says go K-State at December 20, 2014 01:48 PM (aVY3U)

199 "why we somehow thought getting under a hunk of wood was going to help"

It is rather silly now when you think about. A 1 MT'er pops off 5 miles away. Yeah, school desk ain't going to help shit.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 20, 2014 01:50 PM (BNIaE)

200 Do they still make the red rubber dodge balls? I know most schools have done away with evil dodge ball because some precious snow flake might get their feelings hurt. But man getting one of those in the face hurt.

Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 01:50 PM (bXdYS)

201 191 Our elementary school playground was concrete.
There was always some kids who went straight to the nurse's office after recess with skinned knees.
Posted by: @votermom at December 20, 2014 01:43 PM (myWqM)




The principal of little Guevara's school was a neurotic liberal chick from the Bay Area (God help us) who banned games of tag at recess. Why? Because someone could get a skinned knee.


She also banned swapping lunch items, because someone could have a food allergy. Sweetheart, here's a tip: if you have a food allergy then you don't swap lunch items, OK?


The kids hated her. Finally she left (returning to the Bay Area), taking her neuroses with her. The new principal (a man), as his first official act, rescinded all of her bullshit rules. The kids cheered.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at December 20, 2014 01:52 PM (oKE6c)

202 My favorite thing on the playground was the merry go round. We would take turns getting on and having others push it then see who could be flung the furthest.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at December 20, 2014 01:53 PM (DmNpO)

203 200 Do they still make the red rubber dodge balls? I know most schools have done away with evil dodge ball because some precious snow flake might get their feelings hurt. But man getting one of those in the face hurt.
Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 01:50 PM (bXdYS)



You call it "dodge ball?" We called it "learning to duck at the opportune time."

Posted by: Jay Guevara at December 20, 2014 01:53 PM (oKE6c)

204 Do they still make the red rubber dodge balls? I know most schools have done away with evil dodge ball because some precious snow flake might get their feelings hurt. But man getting one of those in the face hurt.

I caught many of those with my face because Moron.

Being really nearsighted probably helped. Which reminds me, went to a biker bar Christmas bash last weekend. There was a blind guy there with his long red cane wearing a T-shirt that said, "My parents tried to warn me this would happen..."

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, Curmudgeon Extraordinaire at December 20, 2014 01:55 PM (0HooB)

205 Ohh! Dodge ball. I should have mentioned dodge ball. One sport I was actually good at as a chile.

Posted by: Weirddave at December 20, 2014 01:55 PM (KAmzK)

206 If I remember rightly, those red balls were used in the kickball games at recess. Also in the foursquare games.

Posted by: teej says go K-State at December 20, 2014 01:56 PM (aVY3U)

207 One sport I was actually good at as a chile.

Apparently, I was born a poor black child.

Posted by: Weirddave at December 20, 2014 01:57 PM (KAmzK)

208 Thanks, all, for the congrats. Luckily Grandson's Daddy is a Marine NCO and his Mom is a Marine Brat, both of whom love dogs, shooting, and 4-wheeling in the desert. The Kid'll do just fine.

Posted by: That SOB Van Owen at December 20, 2014 01:58 PM (8XFab)

209 I should have said "also used" because, oh yeah, dodge ball.

Posted by: teej says go K-State at December 20, 2014 01:59 PM (aVY3U)

210 Oh speaking of concrete playgrounds, my friend lived near a convent that sold js & preserves to the publoc. They had a little playground set- on concrete! Me & my friend would stand on the wooden swings trying to see who could go higher.

Nuns. Heh. They also ran my elementary schools.

Posted by: @votermom at December 20, 2014 01:59 PM (cbfNE)

211 Nothing worse than turning around at the last minute to see one of those red nightmares centimeters from your face. Wham! No crying though! Just a soft "sonofabitch" muddled under your breath. We had nuns as teachers and generally they would let you utter that word in those circumstances.

Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 02:00 PM (bXdYS)

212 There is a movement tolet kid sbe kids "free Range Kids" but from what I have seen it is largely not real. It is relaxingthe rules at certain times and making the kids do unsupervised activities that the parents select. Mostly it is just letting the leash out a little longer or even taking it off for a short time. It is nothing like the freedom (and chaos) we had growing up in the 60's and 70's

Posted by: George Orwell at December 20, 2014 02:00 PM (1BQGO)

213 sold js & preserves to the publoc
--
sold jams & preserves to the public

Posted by: @votermom at December 20, 2014 02:00 PM (cbfNE)

214 Went to Catholic grade school and high school. Wooden ruler's still give me the willy's.

Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 02:02 PM (bXdYS)

215
You call it "dodge ball?" We called it "learning to duck at the opportune time."


I grew up on a Marine base. It's called War Ball and it was glorious. We played with volleyballs with a little air let out. Sent kids to the nurse pretty often with head shots.

Posted by: typo dynamofo at December 20, 2014 02:02 PM (IVgIK)

216 I hid in the corners during dodgeball games, then when there were only a couple left, I'd get out in the middle for the final slaughter.

More good times.

And congrats on the G'kid, Van Owen.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, Curmudgeon Extraordinaire at December 20, 2014 02:06 PM (0HooB)

217 If any of you coach sports you'll know what I mean. Most kids cannot simply handle any criticism. I mean any. We've raised an entire generation of special snowflakes. After a while on my team they learn all about running laps. I think back to the crap my old coaches said and did and am amazed. Nowadays there'd be a school board meeting for sure!

Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 02:06 PM (bXdYS)

218 I went to a Catholic grammar school. As strict as the nuns generally were, they must have pretty much looked the other way at recess. We had inter-class chicken fights as often as we could get away with it. Big kid grabs a little kid and puts him piggy back. Then everybody runs around trying to knock each other over.


This of course was banned but the nuns appeared to have poor eyesight.

Posted by: typo dynamofo at December 20, 2014 02:07 PM (IVgIK)

219 Gawd I wish I could do links.
U tube. Search "True North Almost Tried" should get you there.
Kinda goes along with this too.

Posted by: teej says go K-State at December 20, 2014 02:07 PM (aVY3U)

220 Well off to go see if I can kill this flu or whatever is attacking me. Merry Christmas to all! Congrats on the Grandbaby Van Owen!

Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 02:08 PM (bXdYS)

221 "More good times."

I'm not one to brag, but, I was mean ass dodge-ball MF'er. I would nail you and be the last man standing. You couldn't hit me. I won so many games. You didn't stand a chance.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 20, 2014 02:08 PM (BNIaE)

222 Minnfidel- I coached soccer and wrestling. Wrestling is great for the most part because most of the bubble wrap parents weed themselves out. Still, I had a mother call and scream at me because I let her wrestle a younger, yet better wrestler. Poor Johnny was mortified!

Posted by: typo dynamofo at December 20, 2014 02:10 PM (IVgIK)

223 217 If any of you coach sports you'll know what I mean. Most kids cannot simply handle any criticism. I mean any. We've raised an entire generation of special snowflakes. After a while on my team they learn all about running laps. I think back to the crap my old coaches said and did and am amazed. Nowadays there'd be a school board meeting for sure!
Posted by: Minnfidel at December 20, 2014 02:06 PM (bXdYS)




This story will cheer you up. I was helping coach a youth football team, with the line coach being a 6'5" bruiser who used to bellow across the field (in a voice that rattled nearby windows) at kids who persistently missed their blocks. I was astonished that anyone still did that.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at December 20, 2014 02:10 PM (oKE6c)

224 What makes it even harder is the lack of kids. growing up there were 20 kids about
my age (+/- 2 years) on just our street of 50 houses. Now, in our entire neighborhood of
around 200 houses I don't think there are that many. Makes it hard
to say "Go out and play with your friends" When there are only a widely
scattered handful Doesn't stop me from telling my two sons to go
outside and play but it would be a lot funner if there were enough other
kids around to organize games. What is worse, we live right next door
to a fairly large park around 10 acres. I NEVER see kids playing there
alone (except mine), only with their parents hanging around. And young
couples walking their dogs too.

Posted by: George Orwell at December 20, 2014 02:11 PM (1BQGO)

225 I'm not one to brag, but, I was mean ass dodge-ball MF'er. I would nail
you and be the last man standing. You couldn't hit me. I won so many
games. You didn't stand a chance.


Challenge accepted. Shall we meet on the all purpose court at dawn?

Posted by: Weirddave at December 20, 2014 02:12 PM (KAmzK)

226 Alberta Oil Peon:

Thanks for the transformer info.

I still haven't done the thermite thing yet. I'm looking for old etch-a-sketches for the aluminum powder but I'll probably have to make my own. For the iron oxide I plan to use hematite -- magnetic iron ore -- because it's closer to the black iron oxide recommended in the Army's Improvised Munitions handbook.

The only trouble is that the magnetite is extremely hard. I've been wracking my brain for years on how to turn it into a powder.

Posted by: Ed Anger at December 20, 2014 02:12 PM (RcpcZ)

227 Still, I had a mother call and scream at me because I let her wrestle a younger, yet better wrestler. Poor Johnny was mortified!

I hope you told her how that was an opportunity for her little precious Johnny to learn and become a better wrestler. Because that's exactly what I'd have done.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, Curmudgeon Extraordinaire at December 20, 2014 02:13 PM (0HooB)

228 In high school we used to play "jungle rules football," which was indistinguishable from "jungle rules soccer," or "jungle rules pretty much anything else."

It was great fun. Played with a soccer ball, you could run, pass, tackle, block, kick, pretty much whatever you felt like. The only rule was no weapons. We loved it.

The coach would look around, make sure the female gym teacher wasn't around, and then yell, "OK, JUNGLE RULES!"

Posted by: Jay Guevara at December 20, 2014 02:13 PM (oKE6c)

229 "Challenge accepted. Shall we meet on the all purpose court at dawn?"


Challenge. Accepted.


Dodge balls at dawn.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 20, 2014 02:14 PM (BNIaE)

230 'Kids can't handle criticism'

Just one reason I can never open a school. Imagine a kid today getting everything corrected in something a "simple" as a straight punch",,, for years.
So much to pass along and no one to pass it to.
One of my life's many regrets.

Posted by: teej says go K-State at December 20, 2014 02:15 PM (aVY3U)

231 The only trouble is that the magnetite is extremely
hard. I've been wracking my brain for years on how to turn it into a
powder.


Posted by: Ed Anger at December 20, 2014 02:12 PM (RcpcZ)


Rust will do. I'd recommend letting steel wool rust, then crushing it. (Btw, steel wool will burn all by itself.) For Al powder, I'm afraid it's pretty much metal file + piece of Al.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at December 20, 2014 02:15 PM (oKE6c)

232 Nice post, Dave. Thanks for putting those thoughts into words for us.

Of course we don't idealize all of the past or all of childhood, but they had their moments, the qualities that were better than now, and we do what we can to preserve them. Sure, the ongoing goal is to make the future better than the past, but WE do so without being "post"-anything or pressing Reset buttons.

Posted by: FireHorse at December 20, 2014 02:15 PM (r+LOT)

233 Backwards- Yeah that's my philosophy. She didn't want to hear it. I finally told her that maybe this wasn't the sport for her precious. He quit shortly after that, Showed up at a meet to watch. That is how I found out he quit.

Posted by: typo dynamofo at December 20, 2014 02:18 PM (IVgIK)

234 A challenge dodge ball game.
And me with a bum knee.
Crap.

Posted by: teej says go K-State at December 20, 2014 02:18 PM (aVY3U)

235
(Btw, steel wool will burn all by itself.)

I know. I almost crapped my pants at age 14 when I shorted out a big lantern battery with fine steel wool and the whole pad started burning.

The Improvised Munitions manual recommends burning steel wool with excess oxygen to make the black iron oxide for diy thermite.

Posted by: Ed Anger at December 20, 2014 02:19 PM (RcpcZ)

236 There is not one chance any of you could hit me in War Ball. The Matrix was inspired by my moves.

Posted by: typo dynamofo at December 20, 2014 02:20 PM (IVgIK)

237 Of course we don't idealize all of the past or all of childhood, but they had their moments, the qualities that were better than now, and we do what we can to preserve them. Sure, the ongoing goal is to make the future better than the past, but WE do so without being "post"-anything or pressing Reset buttons.

Make no mistake, I played outside so as to not get beaten when Mumsy Dearest got a snootful, which was quite often.

But the dirt clod fights were indeed epic. Those tales are still told to the grandkids...

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, Curmudgeon Extraordinaire at December 20, 2014 02:21 PM (0HooB)

238 Ever play "Twister" in someone's basement with a both boys and GIRLs and no parents present?

Posted by: NSA/FBI at December 20, 2014 02:21 PM (Zmw74)

239 21 "Ah, rock fights."

We had acorn fights. Three rules:

(1) Everybody could carry a garbage can lid to use as a shield.

(2) No throwing at anybody's head.

(3) When someone went down because he got hit in the head, everyone stops throwing acorns.



Posted by: FireHorse at December 20, 2014 02:22 PM (r+LOT)

240 "And me with a bum knee."

Even if you didn't, I'd kick your ass.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 20, 2014 02:24 PM (BNIaE)

241 The Improvised Munitions manual recommends burning steel wool with excess oxygen to make the black iron oxide for diy thermite.
Posted by: Ed Anger at December 20, 2014 02:19 PM (RcpcZ)



You don't really need magnetite. The thermodynamics of the reaction are driven by the oxidation of the aluminum to aluminum oxide, which is massively downhill. What the aluminum rips oxygen out of is pretty much a footnote.


Btw, did you know that even Pb, if finely divided, will burn in air? It doesn't burn all that vigorously, but if you pour it out in air you can see the powder twinkling as it catches fire.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at December 20, 2014 02:24 PM (oKE6c)

242 Dream on Ricardo. Dream on.

Posted by: teej says go K-State at December 20, 2014 02:26 PM (aVY3U)

243 Thanks Jay. Now I have plenty of mischief to catch up on!

Posted by: Ed Anger at December 20, 2014 02:28 PM (RcpcZ)

244 And me with a bum knee.

I haven't even beat you yet, stop making excuses.

Posted by: Weirddave at December 20, 2014 02:28 PM (KAmzK)

245 It's "willies" not the possessive form!!! [whack; whack; whack]

Posted by: Minnfidel's former grade school nun at December 20, 2014 02:29 PM (Dw98+)

246 "
Dream on Ricardo."



Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 20, 2014 02:29 PM (BNIaE)

247 A little chunk of Na in a Mason jar in a little oil and top sealed.
Toss in lake. Shoot with bb gun or .22.

Posted by: teej says go K-State at December 20, 2014 02:29 PM (aVY3U)

248 Love this, WeirdDave.

Posted by: KTbarthedoor at December 20, 2014 02:31 PM (qahv/)

249 No. It is not better. All of those values I spoke of up thread, they're not being instilled in our kids. Because of this, the social fabric of America is unraveling.

Parents assume that things will be like they were when they were a kid. That kids will pick up the same values that the parents did.

For that reason they don't proactively instill values and proactively tear down "post-modern" ones... but rather just fix things when problems arise. Sadly, by that time those "post-modern" so-called-values have already taken root and become the basis of their outlook.

The job of a parent to teach kids to be adults. Gotta start when they are very young, and if you've been successful, by the time they've reached puberty, you won't have to worry.

Posted by: The Political Hat at December 20, 2014 02:32 PM (lN8KC)

250 "I haven't even beat you yet..."
And you never could have,,, or will my friend.
Not in dodge ball.
Not in capture the flag.
Not in a snowball, dirt clod or rock type fight.
All over before they've even begun.
Check the Vegas line if you don't believe me.
teej heavily favored in all of em.

Posted by: teej says go K-State at December 20, 2014 02:35 PM (aVY3U)

251 How about tackle British Bulldog in 3" of snow on 3" of asphalt and concrete?

Posted by: andycanuck at December 20, 2014 02:40 PM (Dw98+)

252 OK dirt clod commandos, I gotta start getting ready for my gig this evening.

Y'all have fun and try not to trash the place, 'k?

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, Curmudgeon Extraordinaire at December 20, 2014 02:41 PM (0HooB)

253 Check the Vegas line if you don't believe me.

teej heavily favored in all of em.


So were the '70 Cowboys (and the '68 Colts. Shut up.). Unitas and company put paid to that.

Posted by: Weirddave at December 20, 2014 02:44 PM (KAmzK)

254 Thank you so much for this post Wierddave,, and for sticking around.
I've put off the painful hassle (torn up knee + shingles) of getting up and fixing breakfast too long.

And do go check out "Almost Tried".
Hell, it might inspire a post. And I guarantee Gary won't mind a bit if it gets embedded with the post if that's a problem.

And their "Road to the Country Stampede" is a really good vid with a straight up country tune that is really good.
You even get to see me.

Love each other fellow babies

Posted by: teej says go K-State at December 20, 2014 02:47 PM (aVY3U)

255 @253- touche

Posted by: teej says go K-State at December 20, 2014 02:49 PM (aVY3U)

256 Is "touche" a typo, teej?

Posted by: andycanuck at December 20, 2014 02:53 PM (Dw98+)

257 We used to drink water straight from the garden hose...

Posted by: Spun and Murky at December 20, 2014 03:00 PM (4DCSq)

258 Ever run the thermite reaction? I'd spend days
patiently filing a piece of aluminum into aluminum powder, then mix it
with iron oxide (again in a flower pot), stick a piece of magnesium
ribbon in the mixture, light it, and stand back. Very impressive, and
once it gets going, red-hot molten iron runs out the bottom of the
flower pot.


Posted by: Jay Guevara at December 20, 2014 01:47 PM (oKE6c)


I made perfectly satisfactory thermite out of finely-divided red iron oxide and aluminum powder, uh, "liberated" from a chemistry lab. Zinc dust and sulfur is fun, too. Pack it into a used CO2 cylinder, say from a pellet gun, and you make a small rocket that goes like shit. Too fast to see it fly, but you can see the smoke trail.

I expect you could buy real, official thermite from a welding-supply dealer. Railways used to use it for welding rail.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 20, 2014 03:16 PM (gvtTX)

259 Rust will do. I'd recommend letting steel wool rust,
then crushing it. (Btw, steel wool will burn all by itself.) For Al
powder, I'm afraid it's pretty much metal file + piece of Al.


Posted by: Jay Guevara at December 20, 2014 02:15 PM (oKE6c)


Rust is hydrated iron oxide, plus hydroxides, too, I think. There is a whole range of iron minerals that are, essentially, rust. You really want an anhydrous iron oxide for making thermite. The hydrated stuff might react, but then you'd get a steam explosion that would blow your reaction to bits.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 20, 2014 03:23 PM (gvtTX)

260 The hydrated stuff might react, but then you'd get a steam explosion that would blow your reaction to bits.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 20, 2014 03:23 PM (gvtTX)


Everyone has their preference as to what type of explosion is best...

Thermite in ice can be very, very fun.

Posted by: The Redox Hat at December 20, 2014 03:42 PM (lN8KC)

261 Contrary to your first sentence assertion that you are not going to be writing about Fundamental Concepts, I think you *have.*
Fundamental Concept: kids need to interact with the real work, and the real and *natural* consequences of their actions, in order to properly develop their minds. Bubble wrapping kids protects their body but stunts the mind. Let them take risks in unstructured, even modestly dangerous, or you will have mentally crippled offspring.
My standard line when my kids are climbing trees is "if you fall, scream on the way down so I can watch!" It's half in jest, but it clearly implies I *cannot* help them if they do something to stupid. They laugh when I say it - but they hold on tight.
The idea of inherent risk and the mental growth that develops from it is a central idea in my upcoming book, "Insanity's Children."

Posted by: Rolf at December 20, 2014 05:25 PM (H+WqQ)

262 Thank you "Open Blogger" that was awesome to me as I did mostly worse lessons and my friends and I love to live because of it. Good times, Good times.

Posted by: MoJoTee at December 20, 2014 05:49 PM (aR8Ih)

263 I loved this post, WeirdDave. I was lucky to have grown up in a rural area with four distinct seasons, which made for an ever-changing natural environment that provided no end of amusement and education. And cuts, bruises, and lacerations, road rashes, embedded fish hooks, splinters, bee stings, claw marks, and burns from chemistry experiments gone wonderfully, horribly awry.

Unscheduled, unstructured playtime meant I could pursue my own interests and pet projects at my own pace. Granted, this was mainly because of time, money, and transportation constraints, but not every kid needs to be socialized via supervised team activities.

Fresh air and freedom!

Posted by: All Hail Eris at December 20, 2014 06:26 PM (KH1sk)

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