The age of innocence has fled this scene.

There was a time (more than a half-century ago) when children truly were innocent.

That time of simplicity, sadly, has evaporated.

Way back in the 20s and 30s, folks hardly ever found it necessary to lock their doors.

The only times doors were locked in that era, occurred when the family went on vacation. It was a time when neighbors would be entrusted with the key for safekeeping.

But, speaking to the main thrust of this piece, the innocence of children, we feel it should be noted that such freedom from guile today disappears when babyhood becomes childhood.

That's when our youngsters have free rein to do pretty much as they please nowadays.

For the most part, they sit on their duffs and watch the &uot;idiot box&uot;, which spews forth so much lascivious (wanton) fare that it really boggles the mind.

If it's not TV, then it's the computer that is equally rife with the possible viewing of evil matter.

Much time is spent in this manner by the juveniles of today.

Many of them are so taken up with what they consider &uot;entertainment&uot; that they fail to participate in social interchange with their peers.

No longer do those non-innocent children &uot;play out&uot; as was the case in days of yore.

In that long-ago era referred to earlier, youngsters not only played together, but enjoyed the cowboy and Indian flicks in groups (on Saturdays only).

Today's children (many of them) mingle only during school hours, and their safety in that environment is subject to question, in many instances.

With the loss of innocence, many of our youngsters become &uot;druggies,&uot; others form gangs, and all this activity oftentimes results in drive-by shootings and other types of unruly &uot;thrill&uot; pursuits.

Folks tire of us golden-agers pining for the &uot;good old days.&uot;

However, the innocence of those days is an attribute sadly lacking in the 21st century, one that we devoutly wish would reappear.