Barefoot in the Park

In the good ole summer time there is nothing more simple than being in the park at a playground! 

Oh no, all the parks I visited recently no longer have any swings that you could pump your legs really hard to reach the sky, or tall metal slides that would burn your legs as you scooted down, or wobbly merry-go-rounds that would make you dizzy as you flew off, or teeter totters (see saws) that would hurt your hoo ha (or bum) when your friend jumped off and released the balance from 6 feet up, or tether balls that would womp you on the side of your head or swinging monkey bars that would bash your finger!  Ahh, good ole playground memories.

However, I must admit the new and improved playgrounds sure are colorful and bright!

How do you like to go up in a swing,

Up in the air so blue?

Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing

Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,

Till I can see so wide,

River and trees and cattle and all

Over the countryside--

Till I look down on the garden green,

Down on the roof so brown--

Up in the air I go flying again,

Up in the air and down!

      ~Robert Louis Stevenson

Fun times come to mind with an old tractor tire swing tied to a thick branch off a Weeping Willow tree by a creek. A friend would pull the swing up to the perch where everyone was waiting their turn.  You would step on the tire, push off and fly for just a moment and then....jump when you were over the water.... and splash down. 

 

Week #29 LIFE'S simple pleasures - parks

 

Parks and playgrounds seem too safe, so sterile and boring. 

I don't see swings anymore. No longer do we see broken chains hanging off the hooks or rusty nails holding swinging bridges together, or swing sets that aren't bolted in the ground that rise up when someone is swinging.

With every generation brings new ideas and engineering to design stuff for kids that is safe and fun!! It's amazing what over protective parents and pesky lawsuits can do.

What's even more amazing is how everyone over 49 years of age survived!

When you are out and about this weekend and if you happen to drive by a park... hopefully it will bring a smile to your face when you remember that some of LIFE'S simple pleasures can be had in a park.