Friday 5

(Link at left)
Used to Be My Playground

1. What playground game do you remember most fondly?

I loved group jump-rope. I rocked at it, and it was such good exercise. Now, my knees would just hurt if I tried it. Tetherball was fun, too.

2. What playground game did you just hate?

I was not a fan of King of the Mountain (played in the sandbox on the giant rock). Actually, I didn't much like the sandbox, period: it smelled weird and I hated the feeling of sand-dirt on my hands the rest of the day. What? Wash my hands?? hah

3. Which playground apparatus did you most enjoy?

Swings. Totally. It was a bummer to 'age out' of them; the big kids weren't allowed--socially--to play on them because they were "for babies."

4. Which playground apparatus did you generally avoid or not care much for?

The slide. It was the 70s, so the slide was metal and about 15 feet high with no real guard rails. It was awesome-fun when no one else was around, but with other kids--there was this overwhelming sense of danger. Plus, it was always hot on my bare legs. Bare because I had to wear dresses every day, not bare because of shorts. I wasn't even allowed to wear shorts under my skirts! My mom was so OooooLD!!

5. What playground game might be really fun if grownups played it with adult rules?

We had "barrels" on the playground--they were actually 3' cement sewer pipe sections painted fun colors--and one of them was the Love Barrel. Some kid named Keith was rumored to take girls in there to kiss them, and then they'd be married and she would have to clean the gravel out of the bottom (i.e., keep house) while he left (for work? to kiss more girls? hmmm...). Eeuwww! I managed to avoid this fate--even then I didn't like cleaning floors!! In any case, adults would probably not change the first part of the rules so much as just expand on them.