I remember one time my friend Sally and I packed my little red wagon and headed out for the open road. I certainly had freedom to wander, and appreciate the time among the trees. When we lived on the Mississippi River, and it froze over, I could skate over to a little island, alone.
I remember a canyon in San Diego we could explore, probably all houses now, but, then, it was open land. Cindy Lubke told me of a man who had "exposed" himself. Somehow everyone survived.
Now, there are ways to protect our kids. Every child over five needs a cell phone. And now, for a fee you can log on and track your child's movements on a PC. Disney is one of the providers of this service. I don't even know what to think about such an obvious invasion of privacy. No wonder we don't mind the government tapping our phones. "Daddy" will take care of us. He always does.