Exactly right, John. Our parents were too busy to micromanage our activities.

We were free agents and free range. My brothers, cousin, and I used to go to a nearby park and do what we used to call "exploring." While we were living in the Bronx, part of our focus was finding apartment buildings were we could enter so that we could ride the elevators.

Once we moved to the Isle of Long, in the suburbs, one of our activities was centered on vacant lots where we could look for and capture grasshoppers.