It doesn’t take much to make an eleven year old boy happy. A water tunnel beneath a suburban neighborhood will do just fine. We didn’t have any such tunnels in my neighborhood, but my cousin Mike had one not too far from his house. Mike told me about it and I immediately wanted to explore it. But my mother was somewhat protective. So my Uncle Joe (Mike’s father, my mother’s brother) volunteered to take me, Mike and my brother for a walk through the subterranean wonders of Varmint Brook one weekend (name changed so that I won’t be accused of suggesting unsafe activities for local youth). Uncle Joe was just that kind of guy.
Well, Uncle Joe made good on his word. I recall having a great time walking along the tilted concrete floodway with a flashlight guiding us through the dank underworld. The tunnel went on for about a mile, from whence Varmint Brook proceeded through an uncovered causeway for another mile. Then there was another tunnel, and finally the Brook found its way into a river. Mike told me that the second tunnel was pretty messy. But the first tunnel was relatively walkable, and provided all the adventure that an eleven-year old boy needed for a Sunday afternoon.
Obviously, the exploration of such tunnels is strictly prohibited in today’s world. And obviously, some kids still do it. I recently visited the entrance of good old Varmint Brook, so here’s what it looks like today. I certainly wouldn’t encourage any kids to do what we once did, unless you’ve got a really good uncle or father willing to go along. Unfortunately, such really good, down-to-earth uncles and fathers are getting quite rare in this day and age. And that’s a real loss.
Jim,
How right you are. My brother and I were reminiscing recently, and I found myself thinking of the first day I went to school–first grade. My parents pointed me in the direction down the street and said follow this street until you get to the school–be careful when you pass Armitage Avenue (a busy street). And that’s how a six year old girl (about 70 years ago) got to school–alone, by herself, walking down the street until she got to school.
The tragedy of the lives of children today is that it’s impossible to even THINK of letting six year old children do such a thing. So many real dangers–a man dressed as a clown luring children with balloons (recently reported in papers around here), children being shot in cross fire going on among others who are children themselves (incredibly, a whole generation of young people is being killed off or their lives are ruined in other ways), and various other horrors of today’s life.
To say life has changed from what it once was is at this point almost a silly statement; it has irrevocably changed.
Then too think of the child soldiers in places like Chad and Darfur–children forced to lose an innocence of some knowledges that most people never lose and never learn.
When thinking of all the problems of the world, it seems the danger to children, the way life has changed when it comes to keeping children safe is not even on the list of what needs to be done to change the world for the better.
MCS
Comment by MCS — October 21, 2008 @ 3:18 pm
Jim,
How right you are. My brother and I were reminiscing recently, and I found myself thinking of the first day I went to school–first grade. My parents pointed me in the direction down the street and said follow this street until you get to the school–be careful when you pass Armitage Avenue (a busy street). And that’s how a six year old girl (about 70 years ago) got to school–alone, by herself, walking down the street until she got to school.
The tragedy of the lives of children today is that it’s impossible to even THINK of letting six year old children do such a thing. So many real dangers–a man dressed as a clown luring children with balloons (recently reported in papers around here), children being shot in cross fire going on among others who are children themselves (incredibly, a whole generation of young people is being killed off or their lives are ruined in other ways), and various other horrors of today’s life.
To say life has changed from what it once was is at this point almost a silly statement; it has irrevocably changed.
Then too think of the child soldiers in places like Chad and Darfur–children forced to lose an innocence of some knowledges that most people never lose and never learn.
When thinking of all the problems of the world, it seems the danger to children, the way life has changed when it comes to keeping children safe is not even on the list of what needs to be done to change the world for the better.
MCS
Comment by MCS — October 21, 2008 @ 3:18 pm