Ya know, I was reading the comments on my post about the Mother here in Thurmont Md. who allowed 3 kids to ride in the trunk of her BMW and something occured to me…
When I was a wee lad, nobody wore seatbelts. We sort of puzzled over why anyone would want to strap themselves down like that. I remember the coach of my 6th grade football team would drive to everyone’s house after school with his pickup truck to take us to practice. There would be like 10 of us in the bed of his truck driving down the road, and nobody, police included, gave it a second thought. Now, I can’t say that I ever got in the trunk… well, unless your counting sneaking extra people into the Drive-In theatre, but my point is this…
I suppose we are better educated now as a society as to the danger of these sorts of behaviors than we were 30 years ago. Buckling up is simply a habit of driving to me now. It would feel too strange for me not to wear my seatbelt. I’d never think of letting my kids ride in the car without being strapped in, and letting them ride in the back of a pickup truck seems insane to me.
When I was 11 years old, I owned a BB-Gun and 22 rifles… none of my boys have ever discharged a weapon of any type. When I was 13, I’d leave the house after breakfast, and as long as I was home for supper, everything was cool. My parents didn’t even know where I was half the time. In todays world, my children are under a constant eye 24/7. Yes, certainly the times have changed.
