The Ghost Of Ray Brower

I happened to be clicking through the channels on the weekend, only to stumble on an old favourite of mine - Stand By Me. I was amazed at how this movie still holds up (you know, when Rob Reiner made good movies).

For those of you not familiar with the story, it is about a kid named Gordie Lachance, who is unable to grasp the fact of his brother's death. When Gordie hears about a kid their age who had gone missing and presumed dead, he and three close friends set out on an adventure to find the body as a way to confront the guilt and fears he has over his brother's death.

The movie is based on Stephen King's Short story "The Body".

Anyway, these 4 kids wander the countryside for 2 days, on their own, looking for the body. And as they progress through their quest, this is where the movie seems dated, in so much that would we ever see kids out on a quest like this today? I would think that most parents, with all the nutjobs and whatnot out there, would be more aware / concerned of where their kids are for 2 days.

And that got me thinking about my childhood, how I was free to roam all day long (and into the evening) on my bike, regardless of whether it was when we lived in the country (and you literally had to bike 10k to get to the corner store), or after we moved to Montreal. That is not to say my mother was an irresponsible parent, it was just a very different world 25 years ago. No Internet stalkers, not as much gun violence, etc...

I was lucky enough to have a freedom. I was able to imagine, explore and discover things about myself, to understand consequences and responsibilities, to figure out things on my own. Kids just can't do that anymore.

I have had the opportunity for the last 10 years to hire and / or work with people as come into the job market for the first time – whether though internships, summer jobs, etc… I am consistently amazed at the deterioration of vision or creativity or even basic problem solving skills these people have (there are the few exceptions). How are these people going to build a career if they do not have basic building blocks by the time they hit the job market? Forget that - how are these people going to build a life?

I just get the feeling that this phenomenon is somehow linked to kids rarely getting the chance to just “be a kid”, to dream, to explore, to discover. To learn who they are on their own anymore.

I had a hard enough time growing up in the early to mid 80s; yet I would never want to be a kid today. Kinda glad I grew up when I did, because I doubt I would be the person I am today.

Even if that makes me “old”…