Comments on: 3-year-old floats down river on toy truck

By: Uncle Patso

Uncle Patso — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:40:47 +0000

# 2 jsgerhard said, in part:

“These parents were extremely lucky.”

Not as lucky as that kid! Wish the story gave the kid’s name — I’d like to keep an eye out for that name in the future. Anything he’s associated with, sports teams, public companies, whatever, I’d bet on!

By: Lou

Lou — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:03:50 +0000

All done without a helmet.

By: natefrog

natefrog — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:01:21 +0000

#22, tcc3;

Yup. I’m typically blunt, which can have a (sometimes desirable) evil effect. (=

#23, Fusion;

Holy crap! That would be an absolute travesty. I’m not sure I’d be able to forgive myself. (=

By: Cursor_

Cursor_ — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:36:27 +0000

The Canadian version of Tom Sawyer isn’t that great a read.

Maybe they need to add a Pakistani called Abdul?

Cursor_

By: Mr. Fusion

Mr. Fusion — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:06:26 +0000

#21, Nate,

A child running around at risk of banging his head on a table? That’s a good opportunity to teach both the kid and the parents a lesson.

And when the kid runs into the table and upsets your beer, (and Great Aunt Edna’s potato salad) will you still be saying “Not my responsibility?”

By: tcc3

tcc3 — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:28:20 +0000

I think we are basically in agreement Nate, your original comment just sounded a little more evil than I think you meant.

By: natefrog

natefrog — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:03:11 +0000

#17, tcc3;

My apologies, I didn’t intend to make it seem that you felt it was others’ responsibility to watch out for children. I was simply replying to your comment with my own personal take on it.

However, #10 basically did say it *was* my responsibility, which my reply there was directed towards them.

As I mentioned before, however, I will help a lost child or save a child from a busy street. It really depends on the severity of the situation, however.

A child running around at risk of banging his head on a table? That’s a good opportunity to teach both the kid and the parents a lesson.

A small child lost in the middle of a street? That’s too dangerous. (Although I must admit that I don’t believe the parents should be able to sue the driver that runs over their kid. Sympathy for the parents is limited if they are negligent in watching out for their kids. That’s not saying I hope the kid gets killed.)

By: JimR

JimR — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:01:58 +0000

I watched that story on the news here. The tot got up early in the morning before anyone else was awake, and drove his truck down a boat ramp into the river. When they found him, the truck was floating upside down, and he was on all fours on it.

Re: #13 Bobbo, at age 7, I would have enthusiastically gone with you as Huckleberry Finn.

By: Car Guy

Car Guy — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:58:24 +0000

The amazing part to a degree is that it was the kid’s love for the toy that saved him , and drew a happy conclusion to the tale
When the search parties started , one group did a quick calculation and figured with the time span that the child ( or his body) might of been swept 10 -15 km ( 6 to 10 miles) down river
From their craft they spotted on shore what they thought was an eagle perched on a rock
It turned out that as they got closer it was the overturned vehicle with the kid clinging on
When they were able to do the rescue the biggest concern of the kid was “Where is my truck”
Guess he will grow up to be a “Car Guy” or perhaps “Truck guy”.

By: natefrog

natefrog — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:56:36 +0000

#12, deowll;

You are right, I do share many libertarian philosophies.

However, I also acknowledge that many, many things are beyond the average person’s control (but not this kid escaping his parents; 5 minutes is an accident, 2 hours is criminal negligence), which is why I strongly support nationalized health care, social security, etc.

I’m very pro-civil liberties, but I’m also strongly in favor of an adequate social safety net.

By: tcc3

tcc3 — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:54:02 +0000

natefrog – I never said it was your responsibility to watch other peoples kids. In fact I was lamenting the responsibility level of most parents.

That said if I see a lost child or one playing in the street apparently unsupervised, my reaction is to help the child, not twirl my moustache, laugh evilly and think to myself that irresponsible parents deserve what they get.

Sometimes being human means you help even when its not your problem.

By: Benjamin

Benjamin — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:42:16 +0000

#15 LOL

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:36:32 +0000

You know that future versions of that truck will now have to carry a warning that it is not to be used as a flotation device.

By: bobbo, knowing the limitations of definitions

bobbo, knowing the limitations of definitions — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:31:14 +0000

#11–do-ill==no real human being “falls into” a category. We are all combinations of various if not all labels that idiots of various stripes try to paint the world.

Sad to lose the complexity and wonder of life in favor of a simple minded argument.

By: bobbo, once an urban explorer

bobbo, once an urban explorer — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:26:50 +0000

I did about the same at age 7. Did my Tom Sawyer raft excursion on the cities storm runoff canals during a typhoon. Wound up about 10 miles away and as luck would have it only a half mile upstream from a big drainage sump that would have killed me.

I walked up to some cops and told them I was lost. They gave me ice cream and called my parents. And here I am posting as the immortal that I am. I thought I was invincible up until about age 30. It was my first back ache after a day of skiing that brought my mortality home to me. I encourage kiddies to test their environment and try to keep them safe without interfering in their fantasies. Wish that worked with girlfriends, but just too expensive.