*I* could run a subway yard switchboard at the age of 7, Ed.

I could also drive a subway train, take tickets, tell people which platform to take, and – most importantly – stand around on the steps and the clock and shoot the breeze with my dad’s fellow employees and union members*.  It’s a NYC thing: hard to explain to people who aren’t from the area.

So, regarding the kid doing ATC work at JFK: it sounds like: a, the adult was right there; and b, the child was easily up for handling the not-particularly-challenging task of repeating that various airplanes were cleared for takeoff.  Which means I’m not going freak out over it.

Moe Lane

*Hell, if it weren’t for nepotism rules I’d probably be a railroad man myself; my family has a knack for it.