Not Your Father's Playground

I took Evan up to the playground one evening this weekend.  It's in the schoolyard of our local elementary school.  Unlike my alma mater, Warner Avenue School, rather than a sea of blacktop this one has mulch and grass covering all surfaces but the basketball courts. But no tetherball. What's up with that?

Evan is at the age where he loves the slides and climbing towers.  I don't know what the latter are called anymore, in my day we called 'em jungle gyms. The remarkable thing the other evening was the change in playground equipment. Does anyone remember the big old metal slides? They were really substantial. Tall and made of solid steel. The sliding surface was polished to a chrome luster by years of kid jeans sliding down at high speed. And hot as Hades if they lay exposed to the sun for an hour or two.  They were playground machines, as substantial as American industry back then.

I'm not sure what happened to either American industry or those slides but I can report on what's replaced the big steel playground equipment: It's playground, what, toys? Playskool? I don't know who makes this stuff but the slides are about 5 feet long and made of plastic.  Everything on the playground is coated with plastic or thick paint in primary colors. One quick pass along the short length of these new slides and you are charged with about 80 watts of static electricity.  I tried to help Ev off the end of the slide and the jolt sent me flying.  I'm thinking the schoolyard bully has got himself a whole new weapon here. That, or there should be a way to power the entire campus with the friction of elementary age bottoms sliding on this equipment.

I'm sure there were all kinds of safety issues with the big ol' steel slides and jungle gyms but I think we're missing out. Those big pieces of equipment were a part of the juvenile landscape;  playthings for the industrious children of a strong and growing society. Not toys. Steel gray. Not primary colors.  And how 'bout some tetherball while we're at it.

                                                       SJG, is that you?