Reading this review, reminds me of some minor event that sort of became an epiphany for me. And I’ve done nothing about it.

It happened because Calvin had band. He had to play at the local private high school (I signed a paper about not revealing names on the internet–for security reasons that, I just realized, are probably related to what I’m discussing here).

So we drove there and then later drove back. He did pretty well for a kid who had held an instrument for less than four months.

It was driving out of the parking lot that I had the epiphany.

Background:

I used to live here–third house from the turn-off on the north side. This was 1979-1981. As you can see, my brother and I had an easy walk to Croton Elementary School. While still in elementary school, my younger brother and I used to walk to this skating rink (it might not be a rink anymore). In seventh grade I began biking here to go to school, a much longer journey (and, on the way, here is the back parking lot of the church in which I was seriously beaten by a classmate–which cascaded into a bunch of political issues that resulted in our family eventually relocating).

My point–the truth that suddenly smacked me up the head that night driving Calvin back home from such a short distance–is that this used to be my bike-riding/visiting-friends territory. I wasn’t especially outgoing. I was quite bookish. But I took these sorts of ventures for granted. There may have been all sorts of conditions I am forgetting about (“Call me as soon as you get to his house”), but the fact remains that I haven’t let my sons do anything remotely like this.

This simply can’t be healthy for them (except for the part where nothing happens to them while they are out). I’m raising them as homebodies. We’ve got a trampoline now and at least we’re on a single street where they are allowed outdoor (private street dead-end street). But that’s not much.

The fact that I work out of my home in front of a computer I think makes it even worse. It reinforces the need for electronic diversions away from the outdoors. I hate it but I don’t know what to do about it. Living the way I grew up seems like playing Russian roulette with their lives.