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Comedian Gid Pool calls into the show from sunny Florida to discuss some things that he has noticed in his recent travels.
For instance, Gid took his grandson to a local playground not long ago and was struck with the realization that we are raising a generation of wimpy kids. Today’s playgrounds are filled with soft rubber pellets and pads to provide for a soft landing should any child fall. Every corner is gently rounded with sufficient padding to prevent any hurt elbows, knees, or feelings for that matter.
When Gid was a boy growing up in Kentucky, the only thing waiting to break your fall from the monkey bars was 1,000-degree asphalt.
In the middle of each playground was the park’s cornerstone: the 11-foot tall aluminum slide! Free of any entanglements such as guardrails or pads, but instead complete with loose screws and rivets that would catch on your shorts and act like brakes midway down so you would stop dead and fry your backside on the 2,000-degree aluminum.
All this “wimpy kid parenting” began when manufacturers started putting warning labels on toys. Everything has gone downhill ever since. You see, our parents had the guiding mantra of, “If it doesn’t kill him, he’ll be stronger for it.” Proof of this came when Gid was seven-years-old and received a wood burning kit. No warning labels to be found here. Gid came out of his room with tears streaming down his cheeks, third degree burns on both hands and his initials burned into his cat’s butt.
His father’s reply?
“Well, I guess we won’t do that again.”
(they never did see that cat again).
For more family-friendly comedy, check out the Daren Streblow Comedy Show.