“Children Lost the Right to Roam in Just Four Generations.” This article takes a look at four generations in a family and sees how far the kids were able to wander from their home. As expected, the range of roaming shrunk as the generations progressed; a boy in 1926 could walk six miles from his home without adult supervision, while his great-grandson can go no more than 300 yards from his house.
It’s interesting. And sad. Reminded me of the series we did on the origins of overprotective parenting and the risks of not letting your kids do risky things.
Outfoxed! Our family likes to play card and board games to while away the time, and especially likes those that are easy to learn and fun for all ages. Outfoxed!, which we discovered a few years ago, fits the bill nicely. The game is good for young kids, but even now that Gus and Scout are 12 and 9, we’ll still bust it out from time to time. You work together to figure out which of a set of fox suspects stole a pie. It’s kind of like Clue. And actually, having been inspired by recently watching the wacky 1985 Clue movie, we’re about to move on to try that game for the first time.
“Ida Red” by Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys. I enjoy western swing music. It’s a genre that combines country music with the swing of jazz. The undisputed King of Western Swing was Bob Wills. Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys performed a radio show from Cain’s Ballroom here in Tulsa for several years. “Ida Red” is a good introduction to Bob Wills and the joys of Western swing. In the video, Bob Wills is the guy playing fiddle at the beginning and making those “awwww yeahhhh” noises throughout the song. It’s lit, as the kids say these days. Or at least said five years back.
The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America by Douglas Brinkley. There are a lot of biographies of Theodore Roosevelt out there. This particular tome is unique because it focuses on TR’s life as a conservationist and naturalist. You’ll see how the boy who collected animals and started his own natural history museum in his Manhattan brownstone would grow up to become a president who would set aside 230 million acres of American wilderness for posterity. Lots of great historical asides about the development of environmental law in the United States. Good book to listen to while you’re road tripping to a National Park.
Quote of the Week
Your levelers wish to level down as far as themselves, but they cannot bear leveling up to themselves. They would all have some people under them; why not then have some people above them?
—Samuel Johnson
