The danger in my childhood was the product of a dangerous mind.

I survived dozens of imaginary car chases as Luke from "The Dukes of Hazzard," as well as countless laser attacks from the Millennium Falcon's plastic cannons. When it was my turn to dish it out, I had plenty of ammo - cap guns, disc guns, laser tag guns.

Juices were flowing on the neighborhood Web logs as readers responded to a letter to the editor on a related topic. The writer gets honked off when kids point toy guns at her, and at least one blogger felt the same.

"I do not teach fear, because fear prompts curiosity," Attached Mommy to 4 Kiddos wrote.

What she does is limit their use. While she doesn't stop them from playing with friends' toy guns, she won't buy them for her own children.

"Toy weapons bring out aggressive behaviors in kids," her comment continued. "I see it all too often, my kids included."

Do I hear a "people don't kill people" debate coming on? Yep. A reader identified as The Cool Polar Bear lived through his own school-age war games and wondered "Why don't we just ban dodgeball while we are at it?"

Attached Mommy predicted that defense, one she tries to figuratively shoot down by saying "Buddy, this is not the same time and place as when you were a kid."

Nor are the toys as obvious, she suggested, with real "gun manufacturers making pink weapons with Hello Kitty pasted on them."

To join this discussion, go to http://my.journaltimes.com and click on the Downtown link under "Neighborhoods"

River revival

Allison Werner of the River Alliance of Wisconsin wrote on the city blog about plans to spruce up areas along the Root River, with a few sketches of how it might look. A meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at the Root River Environmental Education Center to get more input.

Reader Kate Remington was happy to see the drawings give it a more open feel. Right now, she wrote, "the wonderful walkability that could be Downtown Racine is not realized." It might be largely open to the public, but "chain-link fences and walls" kind of kill that vibe.

The plans drew jeers from others, who put the river miles below crime and taxes on the priority list. One, known as gsp1, took aim at one of Mayor Gary Becker's long-term goals by joking that the city should "turn the Root River into a water park."

The blogger treadlight agreed it's not the only concern but acknowledged the good stuff needs attention, too. He also had a retort for those ready to condemn the Root for its perceived nasty water quality: got to try.

"It is very much like dieting, really," treadlight wrote, in that "you try to eat well and healthy, and sometimes you slip up and enjoy a fatty hot-fudge sundae …"

Residents can't expect the Root to be an "absolutely pristine body of water" like some out West, he wrote. A plan to make it usable, though, is "something to strive for, a goal."

Join this discussion at http://my.journaltimes.com/cityofracine

In all fair-ness

Somehow, carnies, city slickers and farm animals all coexist once a year. Whichever group you fall in, tell us what you notice about this year's Racine County Fair.

Start this discussion at http://my.journaltimes.com/greateruniongrove

Mike Moore can be reached at (262) 631-1724 or

mike.moore@lee.net