Under The Magnolia Tree.

Jackknife, that was very kind of you to take that little boy under your wing, if only for a few minutes. I hope the seed you planted in his mind grows, but I 'm skeptical about the results of him asking his father for a knife. His father will probably look at him strangely, then defer the question to his mother. The boy's mother will probably be horrified by the idea of her little darling owning a "weapon" as she passes a hard rectangular object made of fired red clay.

In many parts of America our societal train has jumped the track. We are a couple of generations into a different kind of people now, people who, for the most part, only seem to understand and value things that run on batteries and that blink and beep when buttons are pushed. Tools? What are they? Why on earth would any normal person want to own tools? The concept escapes many people now. We old timers view knives as tools usually, but it seems like far too many youngsters see them only as weapons. What's worse is that they don't even seem to understand the difference.

Once in awhile I like to give a pocket knife to someone who was nice enough to do me a good turn, and often these are youngsters. I like to think I'm doing something good for them, though about 25% of them don't seem to "get it" when I do that. And where I live there's a serious "knife culture" compared to many places in America.

Pardon my rambling.
 
This story makes me glad that I live in rural south Mississippi. I don't think I have ever had anyone saying anything about me using a knife. People around here, look at you strange if you DON'T have one.
It's kinda funny Jackknife said something about a root canal, I was in the dentist office yesterday getting a root canal. My wife and two boys were in the room with me, as our dentist is very casual. Anyway, my boys are 5&6 years old. Both have little knives that I gave them. They are only allowed to carry them around when daddy or momma is with them. Well, my youngest pulled his little Imperial Jack knife out and showed the dentist. She never batted an eye and "said every little boy should have a good knife to use!"
Could be that she grew up on a farm like my wife and I. But it's a sad state of affairs when a boy can't carry a knife and doesn't even know anything about one. Sad, sad!!!!
 
Not trying to get political, but there are two sides in America. Those who shelter their kids so they don't learn anything on their own, and those who let their kids run free out of apathy towards them so they aren't taught anything by their elders.

BTW, my grandmother hated it when I carried knives around here, got very antsy when I used one of my tacticools to cut something in her basement, my father and I were working there on her hot water heater. Anyway, these days, whenever I visit, she asks what knife I'm carrying. She still does not like guns, but respects the fact that her son in law and grandsons own, and we respect the fact that she does not like them. I think we in America could come to an agreement.
 
DaveH said:
Nice story.

Hopefully won't get twisted to some sicko in the park had a knife and touched me.
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My Karen said the same thing when she gently chewed my butt later that day. I had related the indident to her and she was a bit alarmed that I had done this. I guess I'm just not up on the latest do's and don't's. Karen then told our son Matt about it, who's a county police officer. He said there was no alarm raised yet, but if he hear's of a want on a white bearded old guy smoking a pipe and limping on a Irish blackthorn walking stick while walking a tri-colored Cardigan Welsh Corgi, he'd give me 24 hours head start!

It makes me sad that I don't think I did anything wrong, but my family is telling me never to do that again.:eek:
 
Don't listen to your family! What is right and what is wrong is, to a large extent, subjective, and unfortunately what was once thought of as right is now thought of as wrong. Not that you need my advice, as it sounds like you are much older and wiser than I could ever hope to be, but I just thought I'd let you know that there are those out there that agree with you and your values, even young folk like me. You planted a much needed seed into a young boy that hopefully takes to heart what he learns from his elders, if not now, hopefully when he is grown.
 
It is situational, of course. Almost everything is.

Not trying to get political, but there are two sides in America. Those who shelter their kids so they don't learn anything on their own, and those who let their kids run free out of apathy towards them so they aren't taught anything by their elders.
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There's a third: Those that truly believe that through "hands off" parenting that they'll somehow create a freer, more natural human being who is more at one with the earth, less violent, hopefully vegetarian, blah, blah, blah.

What they really get is a noisy asocial animal that no one in polite company wants anything to do with. I have first hand experience of this: I live in a college town with a lot of these allegedly "enlightened" people, including my backdoor neighbor.

-- Sam
 
The use of tools (ownership of knives) equates to an initiative based mind that thinks for itself and can create its own world, not blindly accepting the current nature of things. That's probably why the poor kid was so interested, something new, something different!
 
To make you all feel better, I let my then 3 year old cut on a piece of wood with my Gerber 3.0. He knicked his hand and the skin broke but did not bleed. He wanted nothing to more to do until he was 5. He took my small plastic Shrade Lockback and started using it. He loves that knife and broke the tip off as an eight year old. His daddy in law grinded the tip down and he still carries it daily. His granddaddy gave him a Boker 3 bladed Stockman. In addition to me, his Uncle started giving him knifes. He has about 30 or so, including those mentioned, a SAK, a Wild Turkey Federation Knife of the year, a Buck 501, a Kabar Dozier, a Gerber 3.0, a Bear lockblade, many cheap wild Turkey Federation knifes, many cheap made in China knifes he has picked up.

He doesn't know it, but he's getting the Buck 110 he's been drolling over for his 9th birthday.

To make you all feel better, he was killing all sorts of birds with his Red Rider at 3. He shot his first deer at 6. He killed a groundhog with his .177 pellet gun with a shot to the throat at 7. He's killed countless starlings, and sparrows, and I probably don't want to know what other kinds of birds. He killed his first buck right after turning 8 with a 100 yard shot off hand with his .243 rifle, which is one of his many firearms. A few weeks later, he took a doe, and could have taken several more, but I wouldn't let him. One was enough. He has a lot more guns than I do and I'm 38, thanks to his Uncle who has no kids to spend money on. He has a 22 saturday night special(I won't let him shoot), three 22's, his 243, two 20 gauges, two 410's. He was shooting doves out of the sky as a seven year old with his cheap Charles Daily Jr. Youth 20 gauge.

Oh yes, he managed to take his first rabbit with a bow as an eight year old.

There are a few kids growing up the way we did. I may have taken it to the extreme with him, as he is a rodent exterminator telling me he had killed 230 something animals, but we always hunt safe and I trust him more than many adults with knifes and firearms, as a mere 8 year old. But I think it's rediculous when his friends can't have toy guns or knifes. We were looking at knifes in Wyoming, and everyone freaked and paniced when this little kids started doing this and that. Then the shop owners relaxed and said, that kid knows how to handle a knife, as he closed the lockblade.
 
Wow, This really saddens me... Well some of it. Not urning for a BB gun and a pocket knife? I've always loved pocket knives, ever since i was very young, I'm only 14 i EDC a Trapper Slimline everyday. Got my Daisy BB gun out in the woods waiting for me. I will always love knives, from now till' my dying day.
 
but if he hear's of a want on a white bearded old guy smoking a pipe and limping on a Irish blackthorn walking stick while walking a tri-colored Cardigan Welsh Corgi, he'd give me 24 hours head start!
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Ha, Thanks for the story and the belly laugh. :D.
 
jackknife,

You were supposed to meet that young man and plant seeds, let us hope those seeds continue to grow.

Sad indeed.

Kids don't even get to play "tank" with a big old discarded box anymore, and wear out the knees in jeans either.

No wonder society has gone to hell in a hand-basket.

No knives, guns, boxes...sad
 
Huh. Steve, my 8yo must not be listening to the rules about the jeans. He's got knees made of razor blades, his mom says.
 
Good on you Jackknife!

Funny, I never wanted a BBgun... Useless things. I wanted a .22 carbine like I'd been shooting since I could remember(like 6...) and got it for my 9th or 10th christmas... I think I got my first pocket knife AFTER that. probably the next year... Lets hope that those of us in my generation(I'm 23) that did grow up this way are as smart as I will be and pass it along!

G.
 
Dang. I saw that this thread had been resurrected and was hoping to find something from Jackknife along the lines of
"I was under the Magnolia tree again and the little boy came by, along with his father. They showed me the boy's brand-new Buck Cadet/Scout Knife/ Victorinox/Case/Queen/Insert trad. knife of choice here/ and wanted to thank me for sparking the child's interest......"

I like happy endings, and I wanted one here. :(
 
Where there is a will there is a way.

I grew up in a middle class household in London.
Nice boys did not have knives, let alone guns!

When I was 10, my father found out I had a knife collection, and confiscated them.
I found out where they were and borrowed them back, leaving the box in place.
A year later, I replaced the knives in the box, and I asked my father for them back, since I had passed my knife test in Scouts.
He "returned" them to me.

When I was 13 my mother found out that I had a BB gun and two air pistols.
She hit the roof.
"What will your father say?"
I looked her in the eyes, and said "Nothing, we are not going to tell him"
And that is how the matter ended!

Where there is a will there is a way!
 
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