Safety At Playtime

Today I hung out at the Church Picnic. Our picnic is anything but a bunch of picnic tables filled with barbeque and potato salad. This picnic looked more like Funtown from back in the day. There was a moonwalk – one of those giant plastic bubbles that kids love to bounce in for hours. They had a climbing wall that reached the heavens – there were kids jumping all over that – one little girl was scarred to come down and she had to be helped by one of the guys. There was a strawberry carousel for really little kids to ride in. There was a bungee jump and little kids were all over that. There was a hay ride and there was a little trolley car that took kids around and they were waving and smiling like they were on a Miss America float – it was really fun.

On the inside the guys were showing their prowess at hitting free throws – that contest was the most popular – every little boy over the age of eight was trying to hit the backboard. The gym was lined with little kids. I was shocked that there were no little girls competing. What was really touching was that the kids were having so much fun – there was no concern that the place would be shot up, no worries about a gang fight breaking out, no care about having fun in public on the south side – all parks should be as filled with laughing little kids.

As a kid, I took living across the street from the park and the stadium for granted. I struggled to keep up with the other kids in my neighborhood – but I could play piggie and catch a softball without fear of losing my fingernails and I learned that at my park. I could hit a softball a half block , and I was able to shoot a freethrow and toss a football as well as anyone after years of practice. I played with other kids in the neighborhood, kids nowadays don't get that chance. They have to play at home and playing outside has to be coordinated. That's so sad.

Just to show that this was a party with a purpose, you could also register to vote, if you weren't already, and you could give blood to Lifesource. There were also an area to get your blood pressure checked and your glucose and cholesterol levels screened. The only thing missing was the tennis tournament – hopefully we will get back to that next year.