Credit: Seniju on Flickr

Since retiring recently, I’ve been reminiscing (like old folks do) about my younger days. And I’ve been thinking about how different it was to be a kid back then (I’m 65) compared to the present. Invariably when I have these thoughts I end up thinking about my maternal grandparents, Fred and Autie. They were two of the sweetest, wisest people I’ve ever known although I was too immature back then to fully appreciate that fact.

Across from their big rambling old house was an old cotton gin. And there was a decent-sized pond on the property. We all called it the “gin pond.” I don’t know if it had a function specific to the gin or not. What I do recall was how “snaky” it was. Probably half the water moccasins and snapping turtles in town lived in that pond. OK maybe not half, but a friggin’ gob of them for a small pond. But my grandfather, “Papa” loved to fish there. It was rare to catch anything worth taking home, but you could catch and release small perch all day. It was fun.

Old Daisy BB Gun

I loved accompanying Papa to the gin pond as a small boy. I rarely fished. I’d take my trusty old Daisy BB gun along and pop frogs, turtles and of course water moccasins to “protect” Papa while he fished. He thought it was a hoot, but he’d never laugh at me. He was too mindful of a little boy’s pride to do that. We’d talk about all kinds of stuff. He’d listen to whatever I had to say as if it were the most interesting thing he’d heard all day. Given that he was quite hard-of-hearing, it was an effort for him to do so.

For those who don’t know the meaning of “bush hog”

Sometimes Grandmother would come along, and Mom and my Aunt Jean as well. I think my Dad and I were the only members of the family who were not avid fishermen. The owner regularly bush hogged the bank around the pond so at least you could see the snakes if they came ashore. And we’d sit along the bank with cane fishing poles and kill a Saturday afternoon drowning worms and gossiping.

One day I was standing next to Aunt Jean and we saw this head just barely above the water, slowly approaching. We both thought is was a snapping turtle. I let it get within about 10 feet and popped it between the eyes. Turns out it was the biggest water moccasin any of us had ever seen. I didn’t know they could leap out of the water but this one did. When it landed back in the water it took off in the opposite direction. Didn’t see it again after that. That was the height of my day. I had “protected” my Aunt Jean.

So anyway, does this kind of thing still happen? Maybe in some rural areas, where kids still have the advantage of a good old fashioned country upbringing. But I dare say most kids don’t. And many of those who have the opportunity probably don’t take advantage of it. Nowadays it’s all about video games and chat rooms and weird music. Yes, I still play video games (mostly ’90s retro stuff). But I was never obsessed with them like so many young people are today. Jeez, kids. Go outside and get some sun!

Poor kid…

And standing beside a snaky old pond with a BB gun? Too many parents today would be horrified by the very idea. Parents nowadays either completely ignore their kids or they become “helicopter parents” and drive their kids nuts because they’re so meddlesome. Hell’s bells, at age 12 my granddaughter was a crack shot with an AR (a little .22 cal of course). She could thread a needle with it. And yes, she only handled a firearm back then in the presence of an adult. Her marksmanship was as good as her big brothers’.

But in modern times too many people are scared to death of anything with a trigger. It’s as if a gun is going to come out at night and murder someone of its own volition. If in fact guns could do that I doubt I’d own any. By the way… guns don’t load themselves. With the exception of your “house gun,” no firearm should be loaded when not in use. A bit of common sense goes a long way.

Credit: timesunion.com

Do kids still get out in the back yard and play up a sweat? Drink water from a garden hose? Ride bicycles without those ridiculous helmets? Do they still get dirt up their noses and callouses on their bare feet? Do they still get bloody noses and scraped knees? Oh, the horror. It’s no wonder so many people have weak immune systems these days. Getting dirt up your nose when you’re a kid helps to build a healthy immune system. Kids build up resistance to various germs and allergies while they’re young so they are bothered less, if at all, as adults. That is, if they are allowed to be exposed.

We live in trying times. Regular folks are caught between extremists of every sort. It’s doubtlessly harder to raise kids in today’s climate than in the 60s when I was a kid. And yes I love the tech nowadays that gives us so many advantages over earlier times. But teach your kids to put away the cell phone and pick up a basketball. Buy them a bicycle. And no they don’t need body armor to ride it. Teach them self-defense and instill some courage and confidence within them. It’s OK to lose every now and again. Throw away the participation trophies and teach them to go out and WIN something, so the trophy is earned. Stronger, confident kids grow up to be successful adults.

I miss those earlier times and the people who shared their lives with me. My parents, grandparents and aunts and uncles are all gone. My brothers and I are now the “old folks” of the family – and at 65 I’m the youngest. There will come a time when I’m gone and forgotten. Someone will see an old picture of me and wonder, “who’s that guy?” The gin pond is long gone. So is the old house where my grandparents lived. Hang on to your memories, folks. Even the bad ones. They remind you of who you are and where you came from. And as such they can help guide you in the future.

Photo Credit: Seniju on Flickr (little boy fishing)

AUTHOR’S NOTE:
As I got older, I came to realize that all life is precious (except snakes). I no longer go out and shoot frogs and turtles for fun. Snakes I kill without hesitation or apology. Why? Because they’re snakes. Deal with it.