Be Less Boring

This just in: Rocks are dangerous! They are too dangerous for school-kids to handle, so now children will have to learn all about rocks from a poster. One wonders if the Home-Ec students will have to learn about sewing and cooking from posters, too, because those needles are sharp and you could smash someone's lights out with a frying pan. I know this because I saw it on TV. You can't be too safe with America's youth!

Given that I grew up in New Hampshire, the Granite State, where I climbed over stone walls, crawled under, over, and around glacial erratics, and hiked some of the rockiest trails in the world, I'm lucky to be alive. If only I'd known how dangerous all those rocks were, I'd have stayed home. In front of the TV. Where it's safe. And probably vented my excess energy, assuming I had any after living such a sedentary existence, by playing violent video games. In the womb-like safety of my living room.

There's a small breath of common sense in this Forbes article by Lenore Skenazy that points out the ridiculous lengths we've gone in the name of safety and the depths of paranoia we've sunk to.

Ah, but clearly Skenazy is one crazy woman. After all, her blog is called Free Range Kids and she--get this--lets her kids walk to school. By themselves! Without an armed escort!

Clearly someone should lock her up for child abuse! Right after they pin a medal on her for being brave enough to let her kids be kids. They'll get hurt. They'll learn. They'll be better citizens, better parents, and better workers, as a result.

Heck, I'm so concerned about the danger of rocks that I think I'll go home and burn all of my Rolling Stones CDs tonight. Toxic fumes be damned, those things are an accident waiting to happen!