I’m pushing 73, and back in the day, almost every house on the block had a mom at home, who knew YOUR mom and kept an eye on all the kids. It was assumed, rather safely, that we could make it down to the school and do the games they had going in the summer and make it home safely.
In the early 80s, we lived on a similar street. One day a herd of kids got off the school bus, walked a block or so, and DISCOVERED that Christine wasn’t home, Jennifer wasn’t home, Mary wasn’t home, Della wasn’t home and I wasn’t home. Six or seven kids, grades 3-6 abandoned! And then suddenly, five cars, coming from various directions, breaking speed limits! Those ”kids,” now in their 40s, still remember the day they were abandoned.
