Judd sent me a link yesterday to this Wall Street Journal op-ed by Journal Lenore Skenazy – the “Free Range Kids” lady who we’ve discussed before – about how many parents fear their kids’ few hours of freedom on Halloween despite all evidence to the contrary.

It’s a good, sarcastic and irritated rant.  Full of fun facts and assertions.  I’m a fan of this line in particular, “Sure, the folks down the street might smile and wave the rest of the year, but apparently they were just biding their time before stuffing us silly with strychnine-laced Smarties.” (However, I’m a sucker for a sentence that starts with “Sure,” truth be told.)

Anyway.  Parents, free-range advocates, those annoyed by “nanny-“anything will all find something to cherish in its peevish paragraphs.  I strongly recommend it.

But Judd’s right on the money when he remarks that the conclusion reminds him of assertions often made here on DM…

In fact, she says, “We almost called this paper, ‘Halloween: The Safest Day of the Year,’ because it was just so incredibly rare to see anything happen on that day.”

Why is it so safe? Because despite our mounting fears and apoplectic media, it is still the day that many of us, of all ages, go outside. We knock on doors. We meet each other. And all that giving and taking and trick-or-treating is building the very thing that keeps us safe: community.

We can kill off Halloween, or we can accept that it isn’t dangerous and give it back to the kids. Then maybe we can start giving them back the rest of their childhoods, too.

Hell yeah.  Take back the night from the apoplectic media.

Suzanne points us over to a great post she wrote for Playborhood.com, about two young Decaturites who decided they wanted participate in a great American past-time this summer: making money!

Here’s a taste of Suzanne’s post, entitled “An Old Fashioned Capitalist Summer”, to wet your appetite…

Today, my 9 y.o. and her friend put together a lemonade stand. Each cup was “$.50.” However, the sign had very small writing in parentheses in the bottom corner saying “Or $.25 if you prefer.” They hoped that no one would notice the fine print in the bottom corner. They were equipped with my crystal pitcher (which I reluctantly donated b/c my daughter wanted a “classy operation”) and the usual cups and napkins.

Click over to finish the story and see how the kids made a whopping 15 bucks!

Suzanne also suggests we use this post to alert the greater Decatur area of lemonade stands in the city throughout the summer so “none of our residents have to go without cheap lemonade on demand.”

So feel free, though I’m sure there’s an iPhone app for that. 

Spurred by our recent conversation about playground safety, Suzanne follows up with a video and probing questions for readers about the “free-range” chickens children of Decatur.

First up, the video.  It features the prof. who recently made the national news for letting her 9 year-old take the NYC subway alone.

Suzanne ties it all back to our little freedom-loving hamlet…

Probably pretty much everyone who spends a little time in Decatur will see them…. free range kids.  You see them walking in flocks from school in the afternoons… biking through neighborhoods and occasionally hanging out with friends at Dairy Queen, Greene’s or Chik-Fil-A.

It appears that we may be on the edge of a new trend and are relatively unique.   Check out [the] You Tube video on the Free Range Kid movement and also look for Lenore Skenazy’s blog and book on the topic.

…Is Decatur a free range kid utopia?  Why?  Are Decatur parents who let their kids go free range being irresponsible or are they just letting their kids live a normal and fulfilling life?

Or put the overly simplistic way:  Child leashes or MARTA cards?