A big thanks to John Venlet for pointing the way to this Psychology Today article, A Nation of Wimps. Everyone should take time to read it. Though I'm not a parent, I do observe a lot of these things, so it rings true to me. Also, I was a kid once, and I appreciate the environment I grew up in more than ever. I grew up outside the city of Reno, Nevada on a 10 acre greenbelt stretch along the Trukee River owned by my maternal grandfather, Clarence Goodsell, an artist who had been in the sign-painting business for many years. All those Plexiglas signs you see today in casinos were once hand painted, and in the 60's and 70's, nearly all of them in Reno were painted by my grandfather and the one or two guys he would employ from time-to-time when things were busy. A 1/3 acre field separated our house from my grandparents' house and grandpa's shop. As kids, we roamed free from as early as I can remember. We had vast areas to explore, all on our own, and in the summertime, all summer, we were out either modifying our bikes and doing "dangerous" stunts like...