A news story this week brought back a memory of my early boyhood. I was 7 years old when my father woke me one morning and told me I’d be joining him when he left for work.

As we got into the car, he said I should keep an eye out for landmarks along the way. We drove through our village to about a mile out the other side, then my father stopped the car and asked if I could remember the way home. When I answered yes, he said he wanted me to walk back.