>>Toss the wrath at me. I must have been watching too much Comedy Central. If I have offended, I'm very sorry.
>>
>>All kidding aside, had it been a man, it would have been just as deplorable.
>>
>>But the posts made me think of something - not too long ago, a friend about my age gave some guitar books to a 16 year old girl who is learning to play. My friend is married and I know his intentions were good. When the girl's parents learned, they FLIPPED, and wanted to call the police. (Eventually they calmed down, but they still forbid the girl from even talking to the guy).
>>
>>When I was 15 and learning how to play tennis, a woman in her 30's approached me and offered to help me. We often played on a lighted court until midnight. My parents and neighbors were constantly worried, but never said a word. (Of course, I didn't understand the worry).
>>
>>Kevin
>
>It is a sad commentary on both the reality and perception of the times in which we live that the first reaction when adults befriend children is fear.

When my children where small I used to enjoy taking them to playgrounds. One of the nice things was watching the other children as well. Now mine are past playground age and I know if I stood for a while on my own watching the children in a playground peope would regard it as suspicious.

As you say its a shame .

Nick Mason