Things just aren't like they used to be

[Catfish Bob]

Things just aren't like they used to be. Its unfortunate but true. Always hear parents refer to this saying when talking about kids going outside to play. Its not like it used to be. You can't just let the kids out and roam around freely like back in the day because now its just too dangerous. 

 

20 years ago when I got my drivers license at the age of 16 the first thing I did was buy a ticket to a Bengals game.  Living in Louisville I was close to the games but not close enough. So when I got my license I was like I can go to games now because I'll just drive myself. It's crazy to think now about back then. How my mom just let her 16 year old son drive a hour and half away to some strange enormous city all by himself. But that was 20 years ago. Things were different. My nephew is 17 now and their is no way anyone would let him do something like that today.  

That first season that I had my drivers license I bought a single game ticket to every home game. Sunday morning I would drive up there all by myself and be there all day alone. Well with 50k+ other people who I didn't know one of.  Sometimes I'd go up there without a ticket and get one from a scalper.   I always parked for free on the Kentucky side by the Burger King. In that big vacant lot by the bridge. These days if you parked there your catalytic converter would be gone when you got back.  Sometimes I would get 2 tickets to a game so I could take a buddy but that was rare. Being a millennial, most of my friends didn't even have a job much less the money to pay for a ticket to Bengals game. Back then I was on the football team, had a job bussing tables and in the summers I worked full time landscaping. I did this for 3 seasons. Then I went off to Paris Island. Only been back a few times since. 

[Shebengal]

I know what you mean. I just read an article where a mom in Georgia was recently arrested because she let her 10 year old son go to a store by himself. We started letting our son roam the neighborhood and walk home from school by himself when he was about 8 years old. (He’s 28 now) .  We also let him go to an all day rock festival with friends when he was 14. If I was a parent now, I would still probably let him do that stuff, but I know a lot of parents who wouldn’t. When I was growing up, our parents would drop us off at Riverfront Stadium to watch the Reds and pick us up later. I was probably 13 at the time. I would leave the house in the morning or after and my parents wouldn’t know where I was until I showed up for a meal. 
 

Truth is, kids don’t have time to just play outside these days because they’re too busy with structured activities like sports, academic stuff, music, etc. They don’t have down time to just be kids. It’s sad.