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Back when I was in the third or forth grade I was walking to school and a car stopped and the guy wanted to talk to me. We had just been told by the teacher (or in an assembly?) about such a thing going on. I gave him the finger and yelled F-you at him and ran off between some buildings away from the road and told my teacher when I got to school. Still don't know if it was the problem guy - I seem to recall thinking it was a high-school kid just messing with me.

My son is now in third grade and I think he could walk to school himself (about three blocks). However, my wife wouldn't dream of it. And when I hear stories like this - I'm glad I married my wife! However, I do feel bad that my kids can't be on their own as much as I was when I was a kid. I wonder if we're too cautious as parents, or if things really are more dangerous out there?