While working on my book, I’ve been interviewing people that are in their 70’s and 80’s. Several have reflected on their life as a child, and all have one thing in common-activity played a much bigger part in their lives back then. While writing my own story, I reflected on my job as a paperboy at the age of 12, and how I would get up every morning, regardless of the weather, or school, or whatever, bike a couple of miles to pick up the papers, put rubber bands around each, and then carry nearly 100 newspapers to deliver, putting on several more miles. Seemed normal back then. Paperboys did their own collecting once per week also. Nowadays, adults deliver papers by car, and payments are made electronically. PE was also a daily activity then-now it’s a minor elective. Kids used to be able to ride their bikes and go to the park-today, most parents are afraid to let them out of their sight. Organized play today is costly, and many parents can’t afford it. In many households, both parents work. There are very few home-cooked meals-most come out of a box or from the local fast-food joint. It seems that we have engineered activity right out of ours and our children’s life-style’s, partly due to advances in technology, partly due to increased crime, partly due to economic issues. These things have to change or we are going to engineer life right out of our life-style’s.
Stay well, John R Blilie, M.S.