Brian’s Dangerous Childhood Memories

Playing schoolyard games are some of a child’s greatest memories of growing up. I actually got my first kiss from Mallory Easter after kicking a home run in kickball to win the game. Who can forget getting tied to the pole after getting beat in tetherball or chasing someone trying to touch them and holler “your it”? Well these days experts are finding all sorts of reasons to quit playing these games because of the “danger” and “significant risk of injury” they present. Isn’t just getting up and stepping out your door a “significant risk”? We try so hard to be safer then when we were kids, yet I think we turned out just fine.

We had metal Slinkies, wood burning kits, drank rusty hose water and washed with non bacteria fighting soap and turned out pretty darn good. I hate when they try to protect us from ourselves. Did you know they even took the fun little toys out of Cracker Jacks and just put in paper toys now because of risk of injury? Let’s take a moment of silence for all the friends we have lost who choked on tiny whistles, little joke books or magnifying glasses from the Cracker Jack boxes….thank you. New York state authorities have said that Freeze tag, Wiffle ball, kick ball, Red Rover and Capture the Flag all had “significant risk of injury” and may not be played at some summer camps. Frisbee, tug-o-war

and sack races were deemed to be safe enough to engage in. Have you ever seen a co-worker limping around the office because of an old Freeze tag injury? Please. Kids will play and kids will get bumps and bruises, it just happens. Is a Frisbee more safe than a Wiffle ball? I have seen family members fall and get bloody faces from sack races, okay alcohol may have been involved too. Tug-o-war can be a dangerous game as well. When I was young we used to have a whole town tug-o-war. There would be hundreds of people lined up on main street with a huge rope from one end of town to the other with the biggest and strongest guys tied in as the anchors. One year the anchor was all fastened in to one end of the rope, waiting for the rest of the team to grab the rope and get ready for the starting horn, while at the other end of the rope the other team was already in position and thought they heard a horn, needless to say there are still pieces of Arnold Gunderson’s backside along main street in Mandan, North Dakota. We are a naturally reckless species. Just let us let us live, learn and use as many band aids as we need to get through it. Tag! Your it!