The Slice: Let’s face it: ‘Safety first’ meant going home unscathed

One thing those of us of a certain age sometimes ask one another is, “How did we survive?”

Helmetless bike-riding. Sledding down icy streets. Fooling around with fireworks. Aiming rocks at each other with sling-shots. The list goes on.

Now some in these conversations enjoy insinuating that today’s kids are coddled wimps. Others, and I would put myself in this latter group, believe a lot of us were darned lucky to emerge more or less intact.

But here’s the thing. A fair number of us who believe it’s better to keep modern kids safe cannot actually recall incidents where not wearing a helmet or whatever proved disastrous. I am not suggesting for one second that there were not plenty of scary accidents. I’m just saying not all of us remember personally witnessing some.

So here’s my question to readers of the Monday Today section. Can you recall a time when, back in the day, someone you knew paid a price for the more casual attitude about childhood safety?

Warm-up questions: “North Idaho” endures despite persistent opposition from the “northern Idaho” faction, but is this the last year anyone will say “Inland Empire” instead of “Inland Northwest”? Do you think you could hibernate if you really gave it try? Exactly what sort of feedback are women seeking when asking men for a reaction to their hair?

Today’s Slice question: Are there sports fans more rabid than those who root against, say, their ex’s alma mater or a pro team for which a despised boss roots?

(Of course, some in the root-against crowd eventually realize the futility of this mindset. Once, back around the time man first walked upright, I spent a summer rooting against a baseball team located in the hometown of a woman I resented for reasons I won’t get into. So, naturally, that team came out of nowhere to win the World Series that year. And the truly pathetic aspect of this waste of energy was that the woman in question could scarcely have cared less about sports.)