I don’t know where the word bogan came from, but in my hometown it was an inlet from the river surrounded on three sides by land. Our bogan would freeze up well before the river did and made an excellent place to skate. Most of us kids had figure skates so we could do crazy stuff on the ice. Discarded car tires provided the fuel for the fires by which we stayed warm. (There might have been some not so discarded, I couldn’t say). The local merchant would provide us a little gas to help ignite the tires.
Never considering the danger involved, we would skate down to where the river flowed free and the ice stopped. That’s the thing about youth and the total disregard for safety. Thankfully, no one ever broke through the ice because the water was deep and the current swift.
As I sit here writing this, a chill goes up my spine when I consider all the things that could have gone wrong in those days. One verse comes to mind that gives me the assurance that God was with me even in the days of my ignorance:
Psalm 23:6
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
Take a long look back and maybe you’ll spot the hand of God protecting you in your youthful ignorance.
Think about it.
Gary