Mr.Ladyfish
Master Chief Petty Officer
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2003
- Messages
- 848
My 6 year old grandson asked me a question tonight. He asked what was it like when you were growing up Papa?. How do I tell him about leaving the house at 8:00 in the morning and coming home at dark? Playing baseball and football with my friends without a parent in site. Being free to be a kid. Going exploring around the lake on the edge of town. Fishing off the bridge 50 feet over the West Canada Creek. Riding bikes as fast as we could pedal, swearing we were going 30 miles an hour. Jumping those same bikes over makeshift ramps in the street and thinking we were Evil Kanevil before he was Evil Kanevil. How do I explain to him that life is not as safe for him as it was for me? How do I tell him that he cant play ball with his friends unless its in an organized league. That he cant go anywhere without adult supervision. That there are sick people who would hurt him or worse if they had the chance. That he cant ride his bike without a helmet and knee pads or some knucklehead down the street will make a complaint about his parents. How do I tell him about the wonders of the beach or the bay and forbid him from ever exploring them without me or his Nana? <br /><br />He really wants to see snow. I am going to try to take him back to my origins in upstate NY in Jan. or Feb. Well toboggan down Steuben hill & dodge trees. Well go walk through the woods and listen to the silence of a snowfall. Well visit his great grandparents who are still alive and well visit the graves of the ones who arent. Ill do my best to explain to him the America I grew up in. I dont know how Ill be able to explain to him how things have changed or why.<br /><br />What the hell has happened to our country?