[Travis McGee]

I know it! High dives were such a rite of passage, and test of courage for kids to face!

Now you have to take your kids secretly to some cliff or tree to have anything like that experience.

[hole_n_one]

High dive.....more or less

[Think free or die]

When we were kids, my dad would sometimes take us to a nearby swimming hole after work. It had a marvelous tree, in which there was always at least one "Tarzan" rope. The kids who were brave enough would climb the tree, swing on the rope (yelling like Tarzan, of course), and drop into the water. What a thrill it was!

Now the pond is gone. Some blithering fool drained it in order to repair the dam, but of course the dam wasn't repaired, and the underbrush took over all but a small streambed. It was good fun in a simpler day. I wish I could take my kids there when we go visit. I suspect they'd be a bit scared of the dark water and unknown things lurking below the surface. Kids today live a more sterile existence, unfortunately.