What I Found on the Porch

My mother told us that an unexpected bonus of raising children on a farm was that she never had to tell us about the birds and the bees. As we went about our daily routine we saw pets and livestock and all kinds of creatures...uh,...bird-ing and bee-ing.

I could say the same thing about having kids work as lake rangers.

There probably should have been a day when I sat my boys down and said, "Sons, as you grow up, you'll see people doing all kinds of things that just can't be explained. Don't do those things."

Instead, Boys #1, #2, and #3 have spent several summers working as rangers at the local lake. They've seen all kinds of inexplicable behavior, including 50-year-old skinnydippers (and they may never remove their own clothes again), belligerent drunks (and they're now aware of just how very stupid this looks), and adult temper tantrums over trifles (a behavior that most people don't recognize in themselves).

Also in the "Don't do these things" category?

Taking a flame thrower on your camping trip.