mitigating the risk

  While listening to the news yesterday and the possibility of snow was mentioned. As that was discussed it was also mentioned that if you let your children go sledding make sure they are wearing the proper equipment. All their skin should be covered to avoid frostbite, boots with non-slip soles and a helmet! Knee pads and elbow pads are also recommended. The message was safety first! It made me remember my days on the old flexible flyer. I broke every rule of safety there could be with that activity. Sure was a lot of fun. At one time we, my siblings and neighborhood kids, were using the hood from a 53 Studebaker as a toboggan. Could easily get four kids on there and it took all four to pull it back up the hill. Nothing like a sheet of Detroit steel sliding down a hill on a sheet of ice.

  I mentioned that on Facebook and got a few comments. A couple agreed with my sentiment of, how did we survive, while others thought wearing a helmet was a good idea. I agree that it probably is a good idea. I think I may have worn my brothers football helmet at one time but that may have been in those push carts we built. Rode them down the same hill we went sledding on. Now that was a bit risky, and we were well aware of that. Baby carriage wheels nailed to 2x4's and steered with your feet wasn't the sturdiest design. A wooden milk box borrowed from the corner store made a great seat. Had a lot of wrecks, a lot of scrapes and a lot of close calls. It was fantastic. 

  I expect all of that would have been just as much fun had we used safety equipment. Thing is given the cost of all that equipment we probably wouldn't have had it anyway. In the fifties when I was growing up things were a little different. There was nothing "professional" about what we did. We might get some advice from grownups, advice like, be careful or you'll break your neck, but certainly no training, preparation, or purchasing proper equipment for the activity. Oh, we got warnings alright, don't run with the scissors in your hands and put your coat on before going outside! Check that ice before you go out on the pond! Walk out slowly, don't just rush to the center! 

  Even the toys we played with were quite dangerous by today's standards. We had wood burning pencils, creepy crawler making machines that involved hot plastic goop in a hot mold, all sorts of guns and slingshots that shot small projectiles capable of putting your eyes out! No safety glassed worn for that stuff either. We had chemistry labs and one science kit had real radioactive material in it. And don't forget about the airplane glue. Hours of enjoyment with only a slight headache later on. No warning labels, no large glaring symbols about safety precautions. Just had to use your own good judgement and common sense. Didn't eat those small plastic parts in the model kits because you needed them to put the model together with. 

  I don't want anyone to get hurt. I'm not against sensible precautions to prevent injury. I do wonder at times if we aren't all getting a bit paranoid though. It seems like everything will kill you these days. I suppose that has always been true, but we weren't constantly warned about that. Most of us figured it out for ourselves. I recall the time I was riding in the back seat of my Dads' Cadillac. There was an ashtray in the armrest with a cigarette lighter. I pushed it in, and it pops out. Looking at it isn't glowing red, so I just stick my finger in there to see if it is hot. It was! Learned a lesson that day. Doesn't have to be red hot to burn your fingerprints off your finger. There was no warning label telling me that. I just tried not to holler too loud and let Dad know I was that stupid. That's how that was litigated. 

  I wonder too if all of this precautionary stuff isn't leading to the emasculation of men. I know it's an old-fashioned notion, masculinity. Scars, bruises and the tales of how we got them are necessary. The battle wounds from childhood are badges for the future. It isn't about survival, it's about living. You know watching the Gladiators battle it out wouldn't be the same if they were using rubber swords! That's what I'm thinking about. A great deal of what we did was to show how tough you were. I'm no wimp I'll jump off the roof! Yeah, young and foolish. But we learned valuable lessons and had a great time. It's like shooting a rifle or a pistol. Doing that while wearing hearing protection, padding on your shoulder, or using the correct two hand grip on the pistol just isn't the same as a quick draw or pulling both triggers on that double barrel and hearing the roar! All this safety stuff serves to dampen the excitement. Mitigating the risk! Ha, what fun is that?