When I was a kid, my grandfather bought me a bicycle. I was the envy of all of my friends. You see, it was no ordinary bicycle. I was the proud owner of a Renegade. I was the only kid I knew that had a gearshift with 3 speeds on the handlebars and hand brakes. (In those days the only variance in speed depended on your pedaling ability and you back pedaled to stop.)

What was best about my bike was that I had a royal purple sparkle banana seat with a sissy bar. I was hot stuff! Nowhere in my high tech package of thrills, chills and spills was the hint of elbow pads, kneepads or a helmet. There were more than a few times, as I was sailing through the handlebars, that I could have used a little extra padding.

Don't get me wrong. The advent of safety gear for children on bicycles has prevented many deaths and severe head injuries. But, I just have to chuckle when I see a gang of kids looking like the Michelin Man on his way to a hockey game. Times have changed. The world is a dangerous place and it always has been. The difference is that we spend more resources and effort in an attempt to deconstruct the environment instead of being a part of it.

At the turn of the century, the most common cause of death was infection. A small inconsequential cut or scrape could morph into a life threatening staph infection. We no longer have to concern ourselves with the staphylococcus that stalked our progenitors. It doesn't hang out with us anymore because we developed technology to eradicate it. There is a cost for our success.

In our zeal to eradicate the not so nice things in our lives, we have created "super" not so nice things. It appears not to be enough for us to manage our challenges. It seems that if we cannot be the all powerful conquering heroes, we are not satisfied. As a result, that turn of the century staph infection is gone. It has been replaced by a resistant strain of staph infection that scares the life out of every medical professional that has seen it. Like all wars, it is an ever-escalating situation.

As I sit here at the computer, I am not arguing anti-technology. I am advocating moderation, management and forward thinking. Before we just kill, perhaps it would be better to create a situation that does not force a mutation. Better could be redefined as significantly diminishes the threat to human lives.

Recent studies indicate that the use of antibacterial detergents being used in so many household products is having two unanticipated effects:

1.Children, because of less exposure to pathogens, are not developing potent immune systems.

2. We are forcing the evolution of super germs.

In short (I know it's a little late for that), maybe it is better to accept ourselves as an integral part of the natural world and learn to manage its challenges.