GROWING UP TODAY, OR IS IT ALLOWED?
1/21/07
In June of 1976, in the middle of what was intended to be a two-week visit to the Grand Canyon, we diverted to a place near Sedona in central Arizona called Montezuma Castle, and later, we abandoned the second week at Grand Canyon, and spent several days in Oak Creek canyon.
Montezuma castle has nothing to do with Montezuma. It was built by the prehistoric Sinagua (Native Americans related to the Hohokam, whose skill in agriculture inspired the founding of the modern city of Phoenix). While walking (or creeping, depending on your point of view) through these ruins, high up in a cave in a cliff, I was struck with the notion that children of these people were required to learn the ways of the world at an early age, or they would never have the opportunity to learn at all. It’s a scary, dangerous place. I think I’ve heard that entering those ruins is no longer allowed. I suppose there's too much concern for the safety of the tourists (although, in this case, it could just as likely be concern for the safety of the ruins, and probably is).
Today, I was watching one of my favorite weekend channels, HGTV, when I heard a building inspector telling an unfortunate homeowner that their old fashioned water taps, separate for hot and cold, were dangerous, and should be replaced by a modern “mixing” type of faucet.
I was mildly hostile to his attitude, and have wondered ever since, “what would those Sinaguas have thought of such a namby-pamby concept?”.
I predict that the time will come, when we’re not allowed to leave our houses, because of all the dangers.
But wait, don’t most accidents happen in the home? How in the world will our progeny be able live in this “dangerous” world?
Prologue
I have, since this was originally written, determined that HGTV is no longer my favorite TV channel. They no longer have the sort of programming that attracted me.
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