As kids in the 1950s, we were allowed to roam freely through the neighborhoods of our village without the close parental supervision that today's children endure. We created our own things to do, which frequently entailed a certain element of risk that routinely put us in harm's way. Left to our own devices, however, we mostly survived the dangers we encountered with little damage to body or soul. Along the way, we learned valuable lessons about coping with the capricious existence that we encountered in our daily lives.