"Looking back on my childhood, I am amazed at how much freedom I and my siblings had..."
This was also my experience, growing up in rural northern California in the '50's and '60's. As long as I did well in school and was polite to grownups, I could do just about anything. My otherwise strict parents would let me roam at will (with bb gun or pellet gun), as long as I was back by dinnertime. At age 11 my friend and I took an overnight trip down the river in our separate rowboats. We were dropped off upstream and picked up the next evening at a prearranged spot 30 miles downstream. On Wednesday, December 5, 2018 at 8:21:00 AM UTC-8, Patrick Moore wrote: > > Steve: I approve, though I have to admit that I failed to be as confident > when my daughter was your son's age. In fact, from what I read, child > abductions, for one danger, are lower today than they were in the 1990s. > But I say, kudos. > > OTOH, one of my early memories is slashing my left forefinger with a very > nice pocket knife my father gave me for an early birthday; forget age. I > just looked at the star now, 55+ years later. > > On to the more general question. Looking back on my childhood, I am amazed > at how much freedom I and my siblings had in the 60s and 70s; such as, age > 14, calling Mom and telling her "I'll spend the weekend with Brian" and > getting unquestioned permission. This left me hitchhiking back 30+ miles on > a drowsy Sunday afternoon along an isolated blacktop with infrequent > traffic while hung over from the previous night's festivities -- Thika back > to Rosslyn NW of Nairobi, 1969-1971. And yet my parents were very, very > attentive and strict. My brother, almost 6 years younger, would disappear, > age 8 to 10, into the surrounding bush to play with the village children, > learn Swahili, and hunt pigeons with stones, to roast over a fire along > with wild potatoes. As long as we were home by dinner time, no one > complained; no one even asked. I learned urban survival skills, especially > from the few times I was picked up, hitchhiking, by drunks or stoners, > either somnolent or hilarious, or angry and agressive; a year or 2 later, > urban bike riding skills in lawless traffic. My brother learned rural > survival skills. We all survived, the better for the youthful freedom. > > On Wed, Dec 5, 2018 at 6:57 AM Dave Grossman <gma...@gmail.com > <javascript:>> wrote: > >> >>> Compare this to the Mongolian kids hopping on little horses at two or >>> three years old. My kid has been fencing since he was 7, so he's at least >>> got some awareness of pointy tools. Plus we cook together in the kitchen, >>> and have done some basic bicycle repairs. *I wish my dad had been more >>> of the type to introduce me to these skill sets.* >>> >> >> That is my motivation with my kids as well. In our modern world most of >> us (especially in urban locales) are devoid of these types of skill sets. >> I've tried to learn as much as I can but I know so little. I want them to >> have a good understanding of those skill sets as they age. My six year old >> has been cutting veggies and fruit with a knife since he was 3. He makes a >> mean salad these days. >> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com <javascript:>. >> To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com >> <javascript:>. >> Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > > > -- > > > > > *------------------------------------------------------------------------------------* > > > > > > *Still 'round the corner there may waitA new road or a secret gate,And > though we pass them by today,Tomorrow we may come this wayAnd take the > hidden paths that runTowards the Moon or to the Sun.* > --- J.R.R. Tolkien > ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > Resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, and letters that get interviews > By-the-hour resume and LinkedIn coaching > Other professional writing services > Expensive! But good. > http://www.resumespecialties.com/ > Patrick Moore > Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > *Auditis an me ludit amabilis insania?* > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
