If I’d had a quick flat tire and hit that boy on the bike, it would have been hell to pay.

I’m talking about the kid, his hands in the air, riding his BMX bicycle along the yellow center line on Pope Road, last week as I was wending my way toward North Windham on what used to be one of the back roads.

What a scare! But of course, I pulled over to the right and stopped, as he flew by. In the rearview mirror, I watched as regained control long enough to give me the finger. But what can you do? There are idiots on the roads, some young enough to think they’re immortal. Some are a heck of a lot older and act just as stupid. That won’t change.

I’ve been watching the evolution of Windham’s skatepark since its beginning. I’ve come to the conclusion that even if we built sidewalks on both sides of the road, installed flashing lights and constructed a berm three stories high, there’d be something for someone to complain about.

There were legitimate complaints before the skatepark was built, when kids were using sidewalks and parking lots and roads for their own arenas; there were complaints when the park was located at the high school and there would be complaints if it were located in an isolated field, with acres of sound-absorbing fauna surrounding it. Don’t you get it? There is always room for a complaint.

When I was a young(ish) mother in Windham, my son built ramps on the front lawn, using an old tree stump and a piece of warped plywood. His vehicle was a BMX, not a skateboard, but the same idea. He would spend hours doing the same thing over and over – he called it getting air. I got a lot of unsolicited advice about the danger and the appearance of the lawn, but bottom line, it was like my late mother used to say, if you can see what they’re doing, that’s half the battle. Years later, BMX riding is a legitimate sport. I was very sympathetic to those who spoke to Windham’s Town Council, in favor of a BMX facility near the skate park.

Just one encounter with the bike rider I mentioned above would make believers out of some of the anti-BMX crowd.

I haven’t personally been to the skatepark, but over the years, in the parking lots and on the sidewalks (posted with No Skateboarding signs), I’ve observed the utter skill and dexterity it takes to not just ride, but actually do tricks with skateboards.

Times change. Kids don’t walk a mile to get together with buddies for a baseball game in the field anymore – or not many kids, anyway. Most moms aren’t putting on aprons and baking cookies and their dads aren’t out in the barn, milking cows. Life is different now.

One thing hasn’t changed. Kids can get into trouble, almost attracting it like flies are drawn to honey. If you can see the kids, you know what they’re doing. That ought to make for a less stressful “parenting experience,” as we now say. Soon enough, they’ll be out of sight.

And for those who can’t abide the park, be patient. As I said, times change. Personally, I’ll take the known – the fervor for the skatepark, rather than the unknown of the future.

See you next week.