Teach a boy to hunt and fish - he'll grow up to be a man. I firmly believe that. No guarantees he'll be a responsible human being...but it's a great way to start out.
These days, hunters and fishermen are held in more contempt by the liberal PETA-freaks and pussy pseudo-intellectuals than are the terrorists.
I was raised by my grandparents - definitely "old school". Even though Grandpa was a democrat, (Roosevelt, Depression-era democrat...not like today's nutsacs), the old guy raised me with a sense of right and wrong.
- You do right - you don't get an award...you just don't get your ass busted.
- You do wrong - you get the award of getting your ass busted.
He and Grandma loved me enough to tear my ass up when I did something I knew was wrong. I learned from that - and I can never thank them enough.
From age seven on, I played for hours with no supervision. If I wasn't home when I was supposed to be, they'd come looking for me and I'd get my ass busted for not having a damn good reason.
I have more scars on my body than I care to mention. I broke both my arms two years apart. I swung from trees, swam in dirty ponds, jumped ramps with my bike, built treehouses, hunted squirrels, rabbits, and deer (and ate what I killed), caught fish, walked for miles along railroad tracks, played soldier (which no doubt led to my current 17-year US Army profession), and made friends I still have to this day.
I drank my first beer at age 13 and have been in love ever since. I learned to drive on a Case tractor. (The two previous experiences sometimes coincided!) I learned the hard way that a mean old bull does not want you riding on his back.
Yes - I grew up in a small town in the 60s and 70s. Things have changed, or should I say "people have changed things"?
It's all esoteric, social engineering designed to make everything safe, easy, and more digestible for the wimpiest slacker pussies among us - it's just that simple.
It's a regressive mindset that gets worse with each generation. I'd hate to see young adults today have to endure something like the Great Depression.