# When will people get some sense?



## Half Baked (Feb 13, 2007)

A county by us has a fire marshall going through schools and making them take down all the art and learning materials on bulletin boards. It's a fire hazard, doncha know....grrrrr.

I'm sure we all can recollect how proud we were to go home and tell our parents that our work (be it art, essay or a lovely printed paper)  was on the bulletin board in the classroom, or do we dare hope - in the hallway or cafeteria for all to see.  Did any of your schools burn down due to a homemade covered wagon sitting on top of the lockers?

This to me is on the line of the counties that won't allow jungle gyms, whirly gigs, slides, kickball or tag to be played during a break because it might hurt some child. I can't believe what is going on in this country. It makes me want to scream.

My word, our family has had it's share of broken bones, bruises, bumps, stitches and scars from playing outside. I wish the courts would toss out these stupid frivolous lawsuits that people and their lawyers are bringing in to clog up our court system.

I could spit nails. 

Yes, I KNOW some are legitimate but a very high percentage are ...ridiculous!!!


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## middie (Feb 13, 2007)

Half I agree. To me kids these days can't play and have the same fun memories we had of our younger days. It's a shame.


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## Alix (Feb 13, 2007)

Jan, isn't there a percentage of wall space that has to be left empty there? Here you need to have 30% of your wall space left blank, but you can cover the rest with whatever you wish. Poor kids, that would be so sad!

As to some of the other useless regulations, I wish I could find the link for stupid laws in your area, it makes me laugh every time I see it. 

Apparently, common sense isn't really so COMMON.


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## middie (Feb 13, 2007)

Isn't that the truth Alix ?


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## JohnL (Feb 13, 2007)

Yet another result of our sue happy society...


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## Robo410 (Feb 13, 2007)

well, if it doesn't burn down the school, then it will cause the coloring challenged angst not to have their scriblings tacked up as often, ... somethings  gotta give, eh??


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## mudbug (Feb 13, 2007)

Apparently the mailman forgot to leave our copy of the risk-free, angst-free policy on life.


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## Half Baked (Feb 13, 2007)

Robo410 said:
			
		

> well, if it doesn't burn down the school, then it will cause the coloring challenged angst not to have their scriblings tacked up as often, ... somethings gotta give, eh??


 
roflmao!!! 



> Jan, isn't there a percentage of wall space that has to be left empty there? Here you need to have 30% of your wall space left blank


 Yes Alix, they did mention a percentage but it was more like they could have 20% covered but I wouldn't swear to it.

I believe they are trying to update all the sprinkler systems in the schools and this must be his way of trying to make it happen soon. In my scarred, cynical and frustrated mind, I'm wondering if he owns stock in a sprinkler company.


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## mudbug (Feb 13, 2007)

what's so important about a blank wall?  is 20% too little?  35% too much?
how do they come up with these ratios?  and what on earth for?


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## Katie H (Feb 13, 2007)

Yes, Jan, that is ridiculous.  Poor children.  I remember my elementary school days fondly because of some of what these students will be denied.

Oh, and don't forget, many districts don't allow Valentine's Day parties either.  Some poor child might not get one or might get one that is less than lovey, lovey and have their feelings hurt.  Waa!  Waa!  Poor baby.


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## Half Baked (Feb 13, 2007)

I had forgotten about that one Katie. It's so sad.

Can they have fun at St Patrick's Day or will it offend the shorter children?  It's getting absurb.


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## amber (Feb 13, 2007)

A fire hazzard for having art work on a bulletin board??  Thats ridiculous.  There is plenty of paper in schools other than on bulletin boards!  I certainly hope the families of these children voice their opposition to this rule at a PTA meeting.


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## YT2095 (Feb 13, 2007)

Litigation! sux don`t it 

it seems in todays society people know much more about their "Rights" than they do about their Resposibilities!


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## Alix (Feb 13, 2007)

Sorry, I wasn't clear. You can COVER 70% of the wall. But 30% must be clear. I guess it burns slower that way. Who the heck knows where they come up with that stuff.


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## mudbug (Feb 13, 2007)

and the "rights" just keep on expanding................


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## Half Baked (Feb 13, 2007)

amber said:
			
		

> A fire hazzard for having art work on a bulletin board?? Thats ridiculous. There is plenty of paper in schools other than on bulletin boards! I certainly hope the families of these children voice their opposition to this rule at a PTA meeting.


 
I don't think the PTA would have any authority over the Fire Chief.


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## kadesma (Feb 13, 2007)

Katie E said:
			
		

> Yes, Jan, that is ridiculous. Poor children. I remember my elementary school days fondly because of some of what these students will be denied.
> 
> Oh, and don't forget, many districts don't allow Valentine's Day parties either. Some poor child might not get one or might get one that is less than lovey, lovey and have their feelings hurt. Waa! Waa! Poor baby.


here long before it was a given, my daughters would send home notes, asking parents to pick up those inexpensive packs of valentines that had 30-40 per package. This way, the children would give one to each of the kids in the class and everyone  was included. Now it's done in all the schools..Things like halloween are now called fall harvest, lots of parents feel halloween is the devils work!!! Christmas is winter break, so many different faiths and celebrating them all just can't fit the schedule,  Easter is spring break..faiths again, roll with the times I suppose!
kadesma


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## Alix (Feb 13, 2007)

We get Spring Break AND Easter break here. Heh heh heh...lucky little Canadian kids!


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## Half Baked (Feb 13, 2007)

One woman in a county close to me fought tooth and nail to keep the Harry Potter books out of school due to the 'witchcraft'.

I don't need to explain about books like _The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe_.   

Are they crazy or trying to get their 15 minutes of fame?


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## Half Baked (Feb 13, 2007)

Pook said:
			
		

> Gaaahhhhh!! It makes you wonder how those of us over forty even lived this long. I skateboarded without a helmet, cycled without a helmet, roller-skated, fell out of trees, wrapped myself around trees while skiing, played baseball, football, kill-the-kid-with-the-ball, you name it...PLUS I can remember the halls being wall-to-wall with artwork and the school didn't burn down. Although at times we hoped it would LOL!
> We didn't have Ritalin, there were no more than 3 TV channels, computers were something on Star Trek, video games were at that weird place in the mall, and never had to be yelled at to go outside. Herding us in was the problem.
> We even had chicken pox.
> Good grief! How in the world did we make it?
> ...


 
Amen...in a nutshell Pook!  Good job.


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## Buck (Feb 13, 2007)

Can you believe it?  Around here the do-gooders are so straight-laced they outlawed the age-old practice of children taking a thermos of Irish whisky to school to celebrare St. Patrick's day!


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## mudbug (Feb 13, 2007)

same people who pooh-pooh the idea of bringing guns to school on the first day of deer/dove/turkey/pheasant season, Buck.


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## Buck (Feb 13, 2007)

mudbug said:
			
		

> same people who pooh-pooh the idea of bringing guns to school on the first day of deer/dove/turkey/pheasant season, Buck.



I thought that was a constitutional right.  You know, the right to arm bears.


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## mudbug (Feb 13, 2007)

when the bears have guns, the terrorists will have won!


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## Barbara L (Feb 13, 2007)

I think we have the 70/30 rule here too. Our fire marshall told us we have to keep the restroom doors closed at all times. I suppose he is going to stay in there to referee the fights that will break out all day long from kids goofing around (yeah right!). They are bad enough with the doors open (of course the stalls/urinals are not within sight of the open door, so they are not losing privacy with the doors open).

Things really have changed in schools. The kids have changed a lot too. When I was a kid you didn't ask to go to the nurse unless death was practically imminent. I have kids asking to go to the nurse to get a Bandaid, and when I ask them to show me where they are hurt there may be a speck barely visible to the naked eye. I have heard of a lot of schools banning games played on black-top playgrounds for fear that the kids will get hurt and the parents will sue. And most recently I heard on the news that the game of tag was banned in New York. By the time my grandkids have kids they will probably give birth then transfer the kid to a bubble to live out his/her life.

 Barbara


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## carolelaine (Feb 13, 2007)

It is hard to believe that any of us are alive to tell of those old days without all of these restrictions.  My son does not believe me when I tell him about the old world.  It is a shame that we restrict even the most mundane things in our childrens lives, and it is hard to watch the way they grow up glued to their video games.


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## middie (Feb 13, 2007)

Pook said:
			
		

> Gaaahhhhh!! It makes you wonder how those of us over forty even lived this long. I skateboarded without a helmet, cycled without a helmet, roller-skated, fell out of trees, wrapped myself around trees while skiing, played baseball, football, kill-the-kid-with-the-ball, you name it...PLUS I can remember the halls being wall-to-wall with artwork and the school didn't burn down. Although at times we hoped it would LOL!
> We didn't have Ritalin, there were no more than 3 TV channels, computers were something on Star Trek, video games were at that weird place in the mall, and never had to be yelled at to go outside. Herding us in was the problem.
> We even had chicken pox.
> Good grief! How in the world did we make it?
> ...


 

Oooh yeah and riding in the front seat in cars, in the back with no seat belts. Wow, we're all rebels


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## Andy M. (Feb 13, 2007)

We (they) work so hard to "protect" children that they grow up not prepared to deal with life in the real world.


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## suzyQ3 (Feb 13, 2007)

I'm going to go out on a limb here (with a safety belt firmly attached) and say that while some of the rules mentioned here may indeed sound foolish and may not be based in sound reasoning, I'm not going to throw the baby out with the bath water.

Did many of us survive what now may be viewed as childhood hazards? Of course. But those who didn't aren't likely to post about it, are they? 

Although I don't think we can cocoon our children, especially when it comes to their precious feelings possibly getting hurt by not receiving a Valentine's Day card, I'm certainly glad that we know so much more about protecting their physical safety. 

So sure, it was a blast tumbling around inside a car unfettered or skateboarding off a ramp with your head unprotected, but would you really let your child do that today? Playgrounds may be constructed differently based on evidence of injury to children; a seesaw may be replaced by a different structure. If you're a parent who isn't overly protective, your kids will have fun no matter what. And they just may have a better chance of reaching a ripe old age where they, too, will wax nostalgic about the good ol' days.


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## Alix (Feb 13, 2007)

Dang Suzy, you're such a killjoy.  

You're supposed to let all us old geezers reminsce without being logical dang it!


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## Half Baked (Feb 13, 2007)

It felt really good to rant....!


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## GB (Feb 13, 2007)

LOL Suzy you beat me to the punch. I was going to post something very similar.

I remember in 5th grade we were playing in the playground and a buddy of mine jumped off something he shouldn't have and broke his leg.

I remember another time we were playing some other game in the playground and a boy ended up losing his eye. I do not recall exactly what we were doing, but it was nothing crazy.

I remember skiing with a girl before people wore helmets. She crashed, head first, into a tree and needed to be rushed to the hospital.

Often times rules seem crazy and way too much, but they are usually there for a reason. 

That being said, I do not want my kids growing up in a sanitized environment. I want them to be safe and I do not want them to ever be seriously injured, but I think getting hurt is part of growing up and part of life and it is not always a bad thing to feel a little pain.


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## Lynan (Feb 13, 2007)

Our young people are still getting hurt and some are still dying but for other, more sinister reasons.  Drugs and alcohol for one, either self inflicted or resulting from somebody else's usage. Child abuse and youth suicide here in NZ is the highest it has ever been and we are close to being the worst in the OCD. Next comes the 16+year olds killing themselves and others in the fast cars that some insane parents say they feel ' pressured' into buying for said kids. Might as well put brass handles on it then.

I for one, would much prefer to have gone astral travelling because my parachute didn't open. Or I fell into a ravine during some Girl Guide training. Or I got tossed off my horse and the helmet wasn't enough. As long as it was doing something I loved.
I am straying from Jan's topic sorry....but one other thing that makes me sad. Children all want to be 5 years + older than they are. I see 10 year olds with dyed hair, 12 year olds with makeup etc. Just what is left to look forward to I wonder. 12 yr olds need to be that, 12 years old. And do what 12 yr olds do.
Or oughta!


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## Katie H (Feb 13, 2007)

Lynan said:
			
		

> Children all want to be 5 years + older than they are. I see 10 year olds with dyed hair, 12 year olds with makeup etc. Just what is left to look forward to I wonder. 12 yr olds need to be that, 12 years old. And do what 12 yr olds do.
> Or oughta!



Great comment, Lynan.  I'll see you one, here, and raise you one.

One of the things that makes me want to hit people and break things is the "child beauty pageant" thing.  I just see RED when I hear mothers saying how cute their child is and want to enter them into pageants.  One of our local mothers here has done that with her 3-year-old daughter and the child looks like a 3-foot hooker.  How many more children need to end up like JonBenet-Ramsey?

Sadly, because of family situations, etc. too many children are robbed of being children and this pageant thing is, in my estimation, one of the nastiest of those thieves.


*
*


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## Barbara L (Feb 13, 2007)

suzyQ3 said:
			
		

> Playgrounds may be constructed differently based on evidence of injury to children; a seesaw may be replaced by a different structure. If you're a parent who isn't overly protective, your kids will have fun no matter what. And they just may have a better chance of reaching a ripe old age where they, too, will wax nostalgic about the good ol' days.


I definitely agree with what you said about keeping kids safe.  The particular playground games I was talking about though were just lines painted on the blacktop for hop-scotch, four-square, and dodgeball.  That seemed over the top to me--school districts have to worry so much about being sued that some of them are taking extreme measures.

 Barbara


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## StirBlue (Feb 13, 2007)

I am sorry if valentines are going out of style and the kids don't want to do it anymore.  I am sorry if kids don't want to play on a blacktop where every fall is a scrape and an ouchie. I am sorry kids are too mature to need their individual school projects plastered on the wall.  
   I am glad kids can have a celebration without the old fashion material values.  I am glad kids want to play on the grass and are not afraid of getting dirty these days.  I am glad kids get excited about contributing to an all school activity like building a whale in the learning center.  
   I am glad that kids like designer clothes and don't need the same dress as one of the Jones' kids.  I am glad that kids don't have to bring those drippy thermos anymore.  
   I am glad that girls have their Polly Pockets and boys have their action figures because they have both been recalled because they were made out of recycled hulla hoops.


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## StirBlue (Feb 13, 2007)

And by the way, we had a really serious snow day a few weeks ago.  School was not called off.  One of the school buses loaded with middle school age children slid off the road, rolled, and came to a stop in a corn field, miles from anyone.  
   Fortunately the bus was equipped with a video camera to record the children's behavior.  It also caught the driver wheeling down the road talking on a cell phone!  
   One of the children retrieved the cell phone and called police. Eight of the children were taken to the hospital.  All the children were in the cold of winter before helped arrived.  
   Several motorist stopped to help.  The driver was taken for medical attention and word has not been released further about this individual.


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## Shunka (Feb 13, 2007)

Pook said:
			
		

> Tell the kids to get the heck off the computer and get outside. Want to debate the obesity issue with kids these days?
> We were fit and healthy...no drugs, no therapy.
> Interesting.
> Hugs,
> Pook


So very true!!!!!!! So many of us parents are so busy with outside jobs that many of us forget what  many of the advantages we had in the pre-computer world. I know that many of us remember what it was to be a kid and we knew our manners and to respect others.


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## Lynan (Feb 14, 2007)

Years ago, I read a few lines in a magazine/book that really affected me. Made me stand back and evaluate where I had been and what I had done/achieved and also had me pondering my future. 

Went something like this:

An ugly nondescript piece of dull, cloudy, glassy looking rock is removed from a mountain. It is then pounded and pummelled, battered and bruised, shaken and shocked.  Then it is polished and buffed. Finally it emerges in all of its glory. A beautiful, glittering, stunning diamond. Precious.
This is how we are all shaped, to finally shine on all around us.. and for all to see.

If anyone knows where this came from please let me know...I'd love to have the original words again, they were MUCH better than mine!!  

So I guess the moral is...cotton wool dont figure!


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## VeraBlue (Feb 14, 2007)

In addition to all that dangerous art hanging, I played in the woods all day long.  I played in the brook, barefoot.  I caught giant carp with a piece of balled up Wonder bread on a safety pin, attached to a string, tied to a stick.  We played war with sticks as guns, and played house.  We played 'king of the mountain' on giant heaps of earth, jumping off to see who could get farther.  We played kick ball in the street.  We caught turtles at the turtle pond and guppies under the bridge.  We rode three on a bike, and we did it without helmets..  We walked  a mile, to and from school, regardless of the weather.  If we got in trouble, we actually had to 'stay after' that day.  We became 'blood brothers', even though I'm a girl.  We shared drinks from the same bottle.  We drank soda and stopped at the candy store after school.  We did not have cell phones.  If my mother wanted me to come home from a friend's house, (and my siblings weren't actually there, too), she'd send one of them to get me.  

I hope the kids who live in this county are wearing flame proof clothing and only study in brick schools on stone desks with rocks to etch on.


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## suzyQ3 (Feb 14, 2007)

Pook said:
			
		

> My daughter told me a couple years ago, "Mom, you were tough, but thanks. I know what I need to do but it's hard, so I'll follow you for Kory, and make him a good man."
> Yep, she spanks him.
> I don't hear of him calling 911.
> Kids are difficult. Hang in there, you parents. Do the best you can to make sure these kids will be the leaders you need in your later years.
> ...


Some parents believe in spanking; others prefer alternatives. For example, my daughter has been extremely successful in disciplining her two children without once spanking them. It is a very touchy (pun intended) and controversial subject.


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## suzyQ3 (Feb 14, 2007)

VeraBlue said:
			
		

> In addition to all that dangerous art hanging, I played in the woods all day long.  I played in the brook, barefoot.  I caught giant carp with a piece of balled up Wonder bread on a safety pin, attached to a string, tied to a stick.  We played war with sticks as guns, and played house.  We played 'king of the mountain' on giant heaps of earth, jumping off to see who could get farther.  We played kick ball in the street.  We caught turtles at the turtle pond and guppies under the bridge.  We rode three on a bike, and we did it without helmets..  We walked  a mile, to and from school, regardless of the weather.  If we got in trouble, we actually had to 'stay after' that day.  We became 'blood brothers', even though I'm a girl.  We shared drinks from the same bottle.  We drank soda and stopped at the candy store after school.  We did not have cell phones.  If my mother wanted me to come home from a friend's house, (and my siblings weren't actually there, too), she'd send one of them to get me.
> 
> I hope the kids who live in this county are wearing flame proof clothing and only study in brick schools on stone desks with rocks to etch on.


"Wonder bread"? 

Well, when I was a kid, we jumped off two-story buildings onto concrete; we walked 15 miles both way to school through hail, sleet, and snow; but our most fun was lighting little bonfires behind the house and seeing who could hold their hands in the flames the longest. 

Oh, to be a child again.


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## StirBlue (Feb 14, 2007)

Well, when I was a kid, we jumped off two-story buildings onto concrete; we walked 15 miles both way to school through hail, sleet, and snow; but our most fun was lighting little bonfires behind the house and seeing who could hold their hands in the flames the longest. 

Oh, to be a child again.
***********************************************************
*Children are among the viewers on this forum!  *
*   You cannot jump out of an upstairs window onto the concrete without going splat!  
   If it takes 15 minutes to walk six blocks, it will take six hours to walk 15 miles; maybe four hours if you walk fast.*
*   You cannot walk with hail stones coming down and hitting you like golf balls.  *
*    If you light a fire behind your house, you will most likely catch your house on fire, killing your family and spending the rest of your life in jail.  *
*************************************************


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## Alix (Feb 14, 2007)

suzyQ3 said:
			
		

> "Wonder bread"?
> 
> Well, when I was a kid, we jumped off two-story buildings onto concrete; we walked 15 miles both way to school through hail, sleet, and snow; but our most fun was lighting little bonfires behind the house and seeing who could hold their hands in the flames the longest.
> 
> Oh, to be a child again.


 
Hey Suzy, did you have to shovel your way to school through blinding snowstorms every day and shovel your way back too?  Thats the one I tell my kids. 


Honestly, there are so many things we can rant about in terms of how the world is changing but really change is inevitable. Some is good and some is just silly. But, silly is not the exclusive domain of todays parents and politicians oldtimers got to be silly too. (Dang I STILL can't find that link but I'm looking!)

I do wish though that those kids could see their artwork up on the walls. Maybe they can send it home to their refrigerators. I don't think there is a regulation about how much fridge space has to be left free!


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## DampCharcoal (Feb 14, 2007)

Heck, when I was in elementary school myself and a few friends used to burn things on the playground (leaves, twigs etc.) with a magnifying glass and the teachers actually watched us do it. In hindsight that doesn't seem to be a particularly intelligent decision on the teachers' part but we never hurt ourselves. 

My Dad has been a Columbus firefighter for 25 years and he told me that the fire marshal can bend and interpret fire codes to suit their whim. It doesn't seem right but it's also not illegal. It could be that your particular fire marshal might be a jerk.


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