Is it my imagination or did there used to be old train locomotives that featured in several public playgrounds across the province.  They seem to have disappeared from the inventory of suitable play items.  As my kids have grown, I have noticed that playgrounds have become a hotbed of safety concerns.  I don’t know why…generations of kids managed to live through metal monkey bars, seesaws, those nutty, vomit-inducing merry-go-round rides and a host of other hard, unforgiving, sun-scorched surfaces for the sake of good fun.  I will admit some of the new play-structures are incredibly exciting looking.  But if a spider web of bouncy rubber is less dangerous than a metal grid of aluminum pipe, I call foul, you can still fall off from the top and kids will always find a way to use the equipment inappropriately and tempt fate.  That remains a constant despite our attempts to save them from themselves.  Even my kids joke that one day the parks will just have huge foam pits monitored by attendants who will only allow one kid at a time if they have on FDA approved helmets and take off their shoes…and sign a waiver.

The fact that my kids recognise the extent of the madness gives me hope that one day parents will go back to letting their kids wander the streets until dark again just like the old days… trust me it is truly lots of fun and not as sketchy as it sounds!

For example, where I lived as a kid for a while in Kamloops, there was a rodeo ground at the end of the block and we would just head over there and spend the morning feeding the horses that were stabled nearby.  Sometimes we might get nipped by a particularly hungry pony or stepped on accidentally by an errant hoof, but we knew not to walk behind the horse and to keep your palm flat when offering a sugar cube! 

Then we would head over to the school and see who was hanging around the playground to decide what to do next.  Mainly we would shake everyone down for any cash anyone had so we could make the trip to the only corner store in the suburb which was about a 30 minute walk away.  The next time-sucking venture was to deliberate over 3 or 4 kinds of candy and how best to spend our pooled resources.  This activity not only tested our math skills but our powers of negotiation as we tried to swing the vote over to a good handful of Double Bubbles (2 for a penny!) rather than a single chocolate bar. 

From there, we could head back following the creek and see who was out fishing or come around by the cross-country running route and see if there was any sign of ‘cougar’ activity, “cause so and so’s big brother totally saw one attacking a squirrel last week by the tennis courts on Todd Road and then watched it head up toward the gully by Sunrise Drive… for real man, I’m serious!”   Or maybe just catch a garter snake or frog.  Finally we would end up in someone’s backyard and cool off under the hose whereupon some epic water fight would ensue and then, after a victory popsicle from the hosting yard, everyone would scatter back to their family houses for dinner.

No one was abducted, run-over or abused, mainly we were sun-burnt, hungry and totally covered in mosquito bites (blasted creek) and /or sporting an accidental road rash due to trying out Kirsten’s groovy new skinny skate board (cause no one wore helmets back then).  Super fun and super safe (absence of sunscreen and protective head-gear notwithstanding) and super educational… for real man, I’m serious!

Ah, summertime…possibilities…endless!

Happy August everyone.

Sizzle in Summer!