My neighbor's son is about 8, and his nanny's daughter is about 10. They both love all the cats in my house and always want to come over and play with them. Everytime that happens, my wife is home too, but recently is was just me, and the kids saw me outside and asked if they could come over and see the cats.

All of a sudden I felt like a suspect, so I made sure that the girl went inside and asked her mother, the nanny (who I know well) for permission to visit my house and see my cats. I cannot tell you how much this bothered me, but we all know stories of innocent babysitters or daycare workers who spent years behind bars, sometimes because juries believed the most unbelievable tales told (satanic rites, drawn from the children's mouth by zealous child welfare workers/SOB's). I cannot ever allow myself to be in that position, because people in this country have been crucified over it.

Why the hysteria? I cannot even begin to guess, but it's real, and it's a sign of a very, very sick society.

She left her kid in a car and forgot about it. It wasn't intentional. Stupid, yes, but she seemed devastated by it. So, that's not a good example of female evil.

The two girls who intentionally set fire to a kitten in a cage, however -- there's your female evil (the kitten, Adam, survived and has made a very good comeback).

Overall, it does seem that we men are responsible for most of the violence and cruelty in this world, and our disappearance probably would, in the end, be a good thing for every other living creature. Not so good for us, though.

We are all very close. The kids come and go often. Thank goodness that kind of neighborly relationship still exists in this world.

I appreciate your concern, but you're assuming a lot, and getting a lot wrong.

The Six Million Dollar Man: awesome opening credits.

Honorable mention, on top of all the others mentioned in the letters: Kolchak, the Night Stalker.

I don't have Asperger's syndrome. I have a syndrome whose symptoms include fear of being falsely accused of molesting a child, which leads to arrest, possible prosecution, possible prison time (with all that that entails), financial bankruptcy, divorce, loss of employment, and social shunning. What do you call that syndrome?

While you make a number of fine points, the fatal flaw in your analysis of this subject is naivety. That's not meant as an insult, so please try not to take offense.

I have a feeling that I'm older than you. I'm in my 40's, and I've come to realize that the bad things which only happen to other people most definitely happen to you, too, be it stomach cancer or a tree branch demolishing your roof or the little girl who says one thing to her mother, and that one thing snowballs into an avalanche of misunderstanding and grief.

I'm not paranoid by any means, but I'm playing the odds. Being accused of molesting children can be the end of life as you know it, so given those stakes, I will be cautious to a fault.

You're referring to my post about the Sylvia Likens case. Her lead tormentor did use food and bathing and sexual abuse in her torture of Sylvia Likens, so you may have a point there about ritual.

Just to clarify, I think and a few of the other men here who are voicing our concerns about being accused of pedophilia are not actually scared of it, per se, but cognizant of the severity of being accused of such. I for one will still interact with kids -- I love kids, but I love more giving them back to their parents and going home to my wife and cats -- just like I'll still walk the city streets at nights. Like Juliebird said, though, heed that voice of caution.

We just did. Good for what ails you.