A couple is in trouble for letting their children walk to and fro a park by themselves! Had the kids taken from them! Thoughts on the subject? Given, it was a high density area and not the county! The children were young!
http://www.npr.org/2015/04/26/402226053/what-kind-of-parent-are-you-the-debate-over-free-range-parenting
If I didn’t live in a safe enough area to let my kids play in the park unsupervised, I’d move. Or clean up the park, one or the other.
When I was 6 years old and in first grade I walked to school by myself or rode my bike. It was about 3 miles away. I’m not going to live in a neighborhood that I have to fear for my kids being outside.
Capt. Larry Teuton
912-six55-5674
lteuton at aol dot com
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
I guess times are different now. I spent every summer of my childhood in Beaufort until I was 15-16. We’d eat breakfast and then disappear, find somepleace to eat lunch, disappear again and get home before the streetlights came on.
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.
Me too! Bale hay at different farms, hitch hike all over the place, never a worry! Had one schoolmates Dad, pick me up once and put his hand on my thigh, after he picked me up! Everyone knew he was odd! Told him I didn’t play that Sh**, or some such words and that was that! Never said a word about it to my friend/schoolmate! Didn’t want to embarrass him or his Sister, who was a really nice girl! Years later, he was picked up by the cops for something and was found to be wearing red panties, LOL. Don’t know how he explained that one? He was married with 2 really nice kids! They had to know something was wrong, everyone else did!
I walked to school in Philly, starting in 1st grade & was riding public transportation to school by 5th grade. No charter bus, but the bus everyone rode - commuters, idiots, bums. And this was in the 80’s when crime was at its peak… and the bus stop was in front of the now demolished Lindenfield projects… most kids did exactly the same.
Also spent every summer in Sea Isle, got my first boat at 9…
We were free range kids before the term existed… and I am not comfortable saying what I let my 8 & 10 year olds do because some DB can report you and your kids can be taken away, you can lose your job…
Its complete B.S.
You don’t have to be a child for dumb a88 shi* to happen, to you! I was in in the Army and on TDY in Los Angeles, CA. once and was approached! I was crossing Beach Bvd, which is a 6 lane Hwy! I was standing on one side waiting for traffic to clear so I could make a run to the center divider! I saw some guy go the other way and smile at me, so I watched him! Don’t smile at me like that!!! He went up, did a U-turn and came back! He pulled up and asked me if I needed a ride I was nice! Told him, no thank you, I was OK! I knew then I was in CA! I was really pretty in uniform! 
Dang easy, you must be a sexy looking dude! Two separate stories of close encounters of the same kind… 
[:0]
Back on topic, times are not the same as when I grew up. If I still had young kids I would not let them walk that far in public. To many crazies out there looking to pray on young victims.
I wouldn’t want to return to outhouses, but I sure would love to be back in the times that you could leave your house unlocked and societies low life’s didn’t run from the law for fear of retribution. And if they got shot for running or resisting the law no one got upset over it, and actually believe the thug got what they deserved.
Fred, I was a cutie in my younger years, which are long gone 
When you been around the world a couple of times, you run into just about everything:wink: Have I ever told you about R@R in Bangkok Thailand? Fun place, lot to see and do! Great food also:wink:
quote:
Originally posted by EasyFred, I was a cutie in my younger years, which are long gone
Yes, if you pick and choose the right places the food is great!! As I’ve grown older and things have changed a simple shot of penicillin won’t cure an upset stomach from sampling bad “food”. You know there was an Island during Vietnam that I would guess some that are assumed POW/MIA went to for incurable diseases.
You know the bad thing is what you mentioned about California, at least overseas only women solicit you. Well… nope aint going there…
All in all, Life is good and the past is the past. Can’t change it but we can learn from it.
I had to walk to school too. Nine miles. One way. Road wasn’t paved, but I’d cut through the fields and woods most of the time. It wasn’t bad. I could make it in two hours if I kept up a good pace. It was usually cold, but I’d break a sweat cause it was uphill both ways. Only had one shoe, so I’d wear it on one foot for a while, then wear it backwards on the other foot. If I got hungry on the way, I’d either eat some tree bark or chase down a rabbit. Fortunately, I didn’t live in the northwest, where there are grizzlies and mountain lions. I could whip the black bears and coyotes. Kids these days…
Independent, confident kids? We can’t have that. They need to be mommy-smothered 24-7.
If you’re lucky enough to be fishing, you’re lucky enough.
A buddy of mine and I would have someone drop us off at the Santee Lakes and we would walk back home to Mt. Pleasant through the Palmetto Trail and then down US 17. When we were too tired to walk (or lazy)we would hitchhike to the next campsite. That is if we could get someone to pick us up with full packs on our backs and shotguns in hand. We would usually go real slow and take 2 or 3 days to make it back home. No big deal. Never thought about it twice and met some interesting folks along the way.
I always loved getting out of that last ride we hitched in the center of Mt. P and walking back home with my Browning 12 in hand. Of course that was before Mt. P was completely yuppified and certainly before the complete pussification of our youth.
Narcosis