I saw something tonight you do not see often these days. Across the street there was a child jumping on a pogo stick. One does not see them a lot these days, but the truly interesting thing is the child had on a helmet. That is a really good idea, especially because he was playing near brick buildings. It just seemed strange when I first saw it. When I was a child no one ever used a helmet with a pogo stick. This is a sign of times changing over the decades. Back when I was a kid we did many thing that could have gotten us hurt and no one not even the adults ever thought what we were doing may be dangerous.
No one wore helmets back then, seat belts had not been standardized, riding in the bed of a pick up truck was a common thing to see. One of the things i really loved back then and we no longer see often was the rear facing seat in my dads station wagon. I loved sitting back there with my legs stretched out across the seat watching the world go by. No one ever though "Hey this may be dangerous to have the children setting in the backward facing seat with no seat belts on, until some children went flying out that back window when the car they were traveling in was hit by another car.
Back in the days when I was young the back seat had a larger shelf behind it. I remember many times crawling up on that ledge in the warm sun that came through the window and riding there. Mom and dad never told me to get down it may be dangerous, and I never got hurt. I remember one time we had went to get food , the store was several miles away. By the time we got the food and were on our way back i was getting tired, so I climbed up on to the ledge behind the back seat and fell asleep. When we got home my parents unloaded the car and just left me there sleeping as it was in our own yard. When I woke up and realized we were home I went into the house and asked my mom why she did not wake me. She said why? You were fine.
I was 10 years old before I ever wore a seat belt. When my little brother and I would go places with our oldest sister and her husband, he would insist the belts be locked before he would start the car. He had a brother that had falling out of a moving car when the car made a turn, and he crashed his skull on the road and died. My brother in law die not want this to happen again to another child. When I think of all the stupid things people did when I was young, and realize the same actions would have gotten them arrested, I wonder why it took people so long to realize these things were dangerous, even if they were fun.
I remember a time when my father took a whole pick up bed full of neighbors kids to a swimming whole one summer. I wanted to go, but mom would not let me or my little brother even though our dad was the one taking the kids. She was worried he would not pay enough attention and we would drown, so she said. I think the fact most of the kids going were boys. The only girl that went was my friend Mary Ann. I said to mom Mary Ann is the same age as me why can"t i go too? Mom said it does not look right all those boys and only one girl, and she was not gonna have people talking about me. Took about 6 years before I truly understood what she meant. The odd part about that trip was only 2 of the children he took with him were actually children of his friends the rest were neighbors kids that barely knew dad as we had only moved into that neighborhood a few weeks ago. EVEN THEN no way would I have allowed my children go riding to a swimming whole, ein the back of a pick up, with a man I did not know well. BUT I DIGRESS. Bottom like things have changed very much mostly for the better. I just wonder why it took so long for these changes to happen.
Odd that all that came out of me watching a kid won a pogo stick with a helmet on is it not?