There are so many things they left out.
I road my horse all over what is now west Houston.
I rode my bicycle miles from home & I did it alone.
I didn't wear shoes from the time school was out till it started again & I didn't die of tetnus when I cut my feet.
I swam in sand pits & didn't drown.
I played outside long after dark & wasn't abducted.
I walked a mile to the bus stop & took the city bus into downtown Houston by myself at age 12.
The scarest thing I did was probably eat food from street vendors.
I can still remember the tamales & how good they were. Those were the days.
Oh, yeah, I did that too. I also used to hitch-hike to a town 40 miles away while mom and dad were at work. I had a buddy up there. Sometimes I would ask the person that picked me up to let me out ahead of the train that ran along the highway. Then I'd hop the last car of the train and ride it for miles. There were days when I didn't even make it home. I was 15, i think.
We had horses, too. Played out in the pasture with them like they were toys. Rode them without any gear much of the time. Fell off a few times, but got back on.
Last day of school, I took off my shoes and except for church on Sundays & Wednesday nights, I didn't were shoes. (Boy! Did my feet feel it, too!)
Swam in dirty old ponds, etc. never got hurt, never got infected cuts after the dirt was ground in.
Everyone played outside until long after dark. Mom's voices could be heard calling kids in to go to bed.
My first 2 or 3 yrs. of school, I walked almost 4 miles, twice a day, many times I was alone and no one ever bothered me and I was never afraid. (Moms didn't have cars.)