New Playgrounds Are Safe—and That's Why Nobody Uses Them

[oldhippie]

40. When I was eight years old, in 1956 .......

... my dad gave me my first pocketknife (as was customary at the time.) I've carried a pocketknife of one type or another in my left front pocket pretty much every day of my life since then. Also on my 8th birthday my parents sat me down and told me that I was now old enough to go to the parks, take the bus to visit Granny's house, go hike in the nearby woods, go fishing at the pond, or go to the playground. All by myself or with my friends. The only strict rule was to be home before 5:30 PM, or before dark, whichever came sooner. When we were 14 we kids would take our .22's and go woodchuck hunting after school. I got my 16 gauge shotgun when I was 16. I wonder how we ever survived.

Nowadays we worry about playgrounds. I guess that's progress and advanced civilization.