A MIRACLE: THEY MADE IT!

 A mysterious phenomenon is the attainment of adulthood by folk whose experience of childhood preceded the advent of “helicopter parents” in cahoots with the “nanny state.” Permitted to play with buddies in the suburban streets, those were the days that youngsters could tempt fate and survive to tell the tale. Miraculously, most made it to adulthood and found they could confidently navigate the complexities of life and the world of work. They became thick skinned, not given to taking offense at the faintest hint of criticism or a perceived slight. Homework done, the kids would go out to play and heed the call to gather around the dining room table – the cue being the street lights flickering to announce the impending arrival of sunset.

No sooner would a crowd of pre-teen children have gathered in the street, than the ubiquitous “village idiot” would present a modified bicycle for high jinks to begin. He would, with the dexterity of an engineer, have removed the brakes or unhitched the brake cables for the real fun to start. Best venue to test the modification would be a road with the gradient dictated by a mountainous terrain. To add the desired spice to the exhilarating fun would be many intersections, a few stop streets and perhaps a traffic light or two – to be ignored with gay abandon by the “Evel Knievels” of the neighbourhood. A proliferation of bikes would be assembled, with hastily improvised modifications duplicating the original and elevating the risk factor exponentially. Cycle races would ensue.

Speed was the name of the game. Caution – not so much.

The daredevil cyclists would rapidly hurtle towards the intersections and brave the traffic, such as there was, towards the ultimate goal in the distance. Cars were assumed to have brakes but were nevertheless dodged with a keen sense of timing and a shoe against the front tyre. To heighten the excitement passengers were added appendages on the cross-bar – preferably girls who would provide fearsome sound effects enhanced by the Doppler effect. There never was a shortage of volunteers to catch a ride on these two-wheeled improvised rockets. Girls tended to be as adept at tweaking the risk factor as the boys.

The introduction of home-engineered go-carts, skateboards, roller skates (later, roller blades) and essentially anything with wheels, followed apace. As the first contingent arrived largely unscathed at the bottom of the hill, the next would embark on the hazardous journey. Then the excitement would be taken up a notch by the climbers mock-charging the following kamikazes and testing their driving skills on an ever increasing level.

Those that did come a cropper simply dusted themselves off and got straight back onto the saddle (and cross bar in the case of the passengers) to continue the journey. Grass burns, grazing and an abundance of blood slowed it all down not an iota. Every fall seemed to reinvigorate the riders.

Adding to the risk factor a tad was the quenching of thirst as a group event, which added a new dimension to the activities of the afternoon. In the blazing African sun, thirst-quenching from a Coke bottle, or a water bottle, if lack of pocket money so dictated, each would take a substantial swig, but leave sufficient liquid enhanced with copious amounts of backwash for the next. Ne’er a thought as to hygiene and those pesky germs that concentrate the minds of later generations.

The call to supper would inevitably lead past waiting moms with wooden spoons or dads with canes. The destruction of shoes utilised as power assisted brakes was the issue! The rod of education was applied to the seat of learning – no government regulations to shield the blows. A paucity of remorse revealed itself the next day as other dangers were conjured up for testing.

Somehow, the kids made it into adulthood. And some even became successful and significant. 

Those generations of kids thumbed their noses at regulation and health and safety requirements. They provided evidence that there is veracity in the concept of miracles. The mere fact that the human race produced adults for thousands of years before the “nanny state” and over-doting parents became the norm, should convince doubters. 

 

©Paul M Haupt