>>>When I was 12, I was getting paid to babysit for other people's kids.
>>>
>>>Tamar
>>
>>That was then, this is now. I agree with you about how it was when I was 12, but today? Not on your life.
>
>I don't actually think the world is a lot more dangerous than it was. I think we're much more aware of what's going on everywhere, instead of just where we live. The Internet and 24-hour news has made us much more fearful.
>
>Tamar

Well, I don't know how things are in your part of the world, but when I was a kid, there were more parks to play pick-up ball in, more playgrounds to play basketball in etc. I look around now, and I wonder where kids have to go to do the things we did. Mostly what I see when I look around is parking lots and malls.

When I was a kid, we didn't go to the park and be accosted by guys twice our age selling crack either.

I can't answer for Elkins Park, but Toronto has changed dramatically since I was a kid.