When worlds collide
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I just want to quietly bask in the glow of taking The Man’s beverage cart and slamming it against the wall, cans of Diet Coke and Pepsi exploding as they make contact with the ground. It’s true, HaloScan no longer rules my blog world.
And for that I am grateful.
Okay, back to regular programming.
While we were up north on vacation (no not in Canada, Canucklehead) we had a chance to hang out at a beach that also had a play ground. And I’m not talking the new-fangled just swings and slides type of park. This park was my dream park. The park of my youth.
I have been in search of a merry-go-round for a couple of years now. They don’t exist in my neck of the woods anymore. I imagine that must mean they are dangerous. Why must the world be so politically correct?
So imagine my sheer joy when I found a bona fide merry-go-round (from my youth) at the park next to the beach. It looked similar to the one in the following photo, however the base was painted chocolate brown and the posts were the color of dark metal.
I spent many hours on the merry-go-round as a child. The merry-go-round I remember was painted primary colors and the base had raised metal textured Xs, I suppose for traction. The merry-go-round at the park we visited was smooth metal and I found I had to hold on with my arms and brace my legs against the posts. So I didn’t slide right off.
I guess those textured metal Xs did serve a purpose some 30 years ago.
Since we had been sleeping in different beds and going to sleep later and later each night, I was not well rested when I set foot on this new merry-go-round. That actually created an interesting, psychedelic effect for me.
All I had to do was close my eyes and slowly tilt my head up and down which created a strange head rush. Like moving bed spins; it was crazy. All I needed to complete my acid trip was some music from The Doors or Pink Floyd. Alas, all I had was the squeals of joy from the other children on the merry-go-round.
Side note: what’s wrong with parents today? It’s a park, man. Hop on the rides.
Needless to say, I was the only adult riding the merry-go-round. But there were a few parents pushing the merry-go-round, Mr. C included, so we hit maximum velocity. I really did expect Mr. C to hop on and enjoy the ride.
But, it was just me and a bunch of 8-year-olds.
After I spent some significant time on the merry-go-round, I spied the golden scepter of my youth. My absolute favorite item on the play ground has always been the swing set. But these days the swings are pliable pieces of rubber (probably recycled from tires) that form a U shape.
When an adult woman, who has carried and delivered three babies which indicates slightly wider-than-usual hips, hops on the swing she can only swing for so long before her hips bother her. You know, hypothetically speaking.
Again, back in the day (the mid to late 70s) the swings were made with foresight. The swings of my youth had a sturdy, flat seat. It was probably made of wood and was wrapped in black rubber with embossed parallel lines. I imagine the lines created the texture that prevented a child from sliding off the swing. It also had metal chains which suspended the swing from the top of the swing set.
When we were at the dream park next to the beach, and I was trippin’ on the merry-go-round, I discovered the swingset. And to my extreme joy, I saw that the swings themselves were flat red rectangles made of hard plastic. The swings of my youth — right there in front of me!
Oh joy!
So I stumbled over to the swings, since I had just stepped off the merry-go-round and my head was spinning. Emily was on the swing next to me, and I have to say she really harshed my mellow, daddio. I pushed her until she got going for a while, but she’s only three and does not understand how to pump her legs to keep her going.
So I got Emily going and then went nuts on my own swing. I was flying — my ponytail was swinging behind me and the sun was shining on my face and legs. I was in a groove leaning back to gain momentum and on the upswing kicking back. I considered jumping off in mid-flight like I did as a kid, but decided against it.
Just as I was feeling the endorphins bounce around like a mosh pit in my brain, Emily announced she was at a stand still — she needed a push. So I had to stop, get her going and then start my ascent again.
As I went through this routine there were two teenage girls on the swings to my right. One chick had it down and she and I were talking about what great swings these were. The other teenage chick couldn’t get going. She told her friend, “You need muscles to swing on these swings.”
The other girl said, “No you don’t, you just need momentum.”
And I silently agreed with her, it is all about the momentum, baby. Of course a good kick back with your legs is necessary as well. So maybe muscles are a part of the equation.
All I know is that I was transported back in time reliving the hours I spent swinging, higher and higher, wondering if I would ever be able to eclipse the top of the swing set and come back down again creating a full circle. That never did happen, but I always tried.
And in my efforts to swing as high as I could, something magical happened every time. I was living in the moment, enjoying the feel of my legs pumping and leaning back to create more momentum.
I was one with the universe and I thought of nothing but the joy I felt in my heart and my soul. My head was cleared of all my worries and anxiety.
Maybe that’s the answer to all of this.
If only my therapist had a swing set in her office — with the correct type of flat swing that doesn’t crush a woman’s hips. Then I could create that Zen-like experience every three weeks.
I. Want. To. Swing!
(Just sayin’.)
Rebecca, it was PURE JOY! Truly it was. I could swing all of my summer days away. If not for the children, you know.
Hola CG!
LOVE to swing! I take Coti to the park everyday and swing while she sniffs. There is also a merry-go-round, but I avoid it because of vertigo.
Glad to hear you found true bliss!
Mucho Smooches!
Val
p.s. Crazy B*&^% came back from vacation today. I’m just looking for an opportunity to take that *&%$ BIG CHEESE cup out again!
You have a bona fide merry-go-round in your neighborhood and you have been holding back on me all these years?! I *have* to check it out next time we come over.
I can’t wait to find out how long it takes to take over the Big Cheese. Again. :)
Funny, I completely forgot about those merry go rounds. We don’t have them here either. I loved them as a kid, but don’t think I could go on one now. For some reason I get dizzy and nauseous (I can never spell that word!) even on a swing these days. Must be my age. Ahh! To be young again!
Oh Michelle. Age is just a number. At least over here it is. And don’t worry, I took care of fixing the spelling. I watch out for my peeps.
Awesome for finding that park and not dying on the horribly dangerous Merry-Go-Round :)
Actually, I’m not sure I could do the Merry-Go-Round anymore. I have found my tolerance for spinning in circles has diminished greatly in my old age :) I used to love the Tilt-A-Whirl but that thing is now hurl-city for me. Too much information? :)
I changed orwell to strugglingwriter. Maybe Big Brother is trying to tell you something? Not TMI, just enough to make you real :)
I have no idea why that above comment (#4) says “orwell”. It should say “strugglingwriter”. Sorry for that.
No problem. Now that I can EDIT AGAIN (shakes fist at the evil empire known as HaloScan) I took care of that for you.
I used to love the merry-go-rounds as a kid too, but now I get nauseous just watching one go around. Seriously. Some of the crazy fast spinning rides at the amusement park do the same thing to me. I can only watch them for a minute before I have to look away. Getting old sucks.
Wow, it sounds like the majority of my readers (four in all, I believe) cannot stomach the merry-go-round. I guess I’m one in five. How special I am!
We don’t have Merry go rounds either, and I am constantly on the lookout for them. We had some extended family who had their own carousel and merry go round (and indoor pool and train), but they moved away:( I find I am the only adult actually playing at the park most days as well. When I go too high on the swings I get scared, though. I don’t think that happened when I was young(er).
Yes, I’ve experienced that dropping stomach as well, Stacie, when my brain screams, “Um no higher today, please!”
That would be fantastically wicked to know someone who OWNED their own merry go round. I would be over there EVERY DAY of the rest of my natural life.
I LOVE the swings! I think that might have been one of the main reasons I had a kid. Ky and I used to swing together even up to a few years ago, when she suddenly became embarrassed by her mother. Now, that I’m “cool enough” for her again, I’ll have to ask her to come to the playground with me…
I wish I had that problem.
I don’t get nauseous, baby — twirl it faster! The only playground item from my/our youth I don’t miss are the teeter totters (aka seesaw). I still remember the time in kindergarten when Rusty Hayden and I were teeter-tottering, and he jumped off without warning — plummeting me butt first to earth with a sickening thud.
I LOVED THE TEETER TOTTERS!!!! Becky you have just unleashed a fervent desire to find a teeter totter. LOVE those things! I’m off to obsess now…
We have a slightly different merry go round in the new neighborhood. It’s the kind you sit on with your legs through and the bar is in front of you – or danger style, sitting sideways with your legs on the bench. There is also a stand on teeter totter.
I have trouble with the swing seats also. I can usually work a u shape. I have trouble with the small flat seats that seem to be everywhere.
I think if you poll women, most can’t go in circles anymore. I can do rollercoasters, but not circles. I noticed it after I had the first baby.
I think I know the merry-go-round of which you speak, Patty. That is way old school, if it’s the one I’m thinking of. And I think it is.
I’m surprised you do well on the U shape. It makes my bones feel like they are grinding against each other. Ouch. Give me a flat seat any day of the week.
Hmm, I might have to create a poll for the chicks in the house.
I absolutely hate rollercoasters. I think, if you put a gun to my head and said, “Get on the roller coaster or die,” I would choose death by gunshot. Hate those things. But I could spend an eternity on the merry-go-round.
What a beautiful post.
I love the merry-go-round too, and oh my, what a cool name is ‘merry-go-round’? I never thought about what a cool name that is before. It sounds so Victorian. Nice. Those things are dangerous though… we used to play a game where you put coppers (i.e. one and two penny coins) on the ground around the merry-go-round, then lie down on it while someone else span it and try to pick up the coins while your face was racing past them. Fingerburn – ouch.
Now, onto swings. I used to love swinging so much and I loved your description of that zen state when you’re just thinking about keeping that swing going, getting higher and higher: “I was one with the universe and I thought of nothing but the joy I felt in my heart and my soul. My head was cleared of all my worries and anxiety.”
Unfortunately I find that swinging makes me feel sick nowadays. I’m sad about that :-(
Oh Guilty, how you stroke my ego. Thank you.
I have very vague memories of that type of game, trying to pick up pennies/coppers. I always learn something new from you!
Oh no! The swing makes you feel sick? That’s a major bummer, GS.
Hmmm… I am thinking you kicked Haloscan’s butt but in the process may have added evil popups for commenters… double sad now :-[
Woah, woah, woah. What do you mean evil popups? Explain please.
Aargh to the new swings. As I, too, am a mother of 3, I totally get the hip problem!
When I was a kid in St. Charles IL, I recall the local elementary schools had awesome playgrounds. I loved being on the merry-go-round and the wonderful hip accomodating swings — for children with no hips. I recall that when girls were spinning the merry-go-round I could easily stand against the posts and just enjoy the ride. However, when the boys (they must develope testosterone muscles early in the corn belt) were doing the spinning we had to hold on tight and brace our feet against the bars or any available human to keep from flying off. Sometimes we did fly off but I never remember anyone ever getting hurt.
In fact the only times I remember getting hurt was (1) when the dumb little boy at summer camp pushed me head first down the baby slide (because I wouldn’t pretend to buy a slide ticket from him) and I ended up with a stitched up chin. And (2) when I was running across the playground from a boy who was trying to kiss me and a smacked straight into the support for the GIANT slide on the big side of the playground – bloody mouth. But never did we get hurt on the merry-go-round.
My favorite park growing up was Potawatomi Park in St. Charles IL. I believe it had a merry-go-round, but it also had a cement tube that you could get into and start pushing and walking to make it go like a hamster wheel. Inevitably it would start spinning too fast and one would fall and be bounced around a bit – ahh the memories.
There were also swings where two swings would be hanging on either side of a pole and a third person could spin the pole around making the swings fly out sideways into the air. These swings were the same as today’s swings, but understandably so as you really wouldn’t want anyone to fly out.
The best playground I’ve seen lately is the South Germantown Recreational Park in Boyds, MD. It has so much including a castle and a pirate ship for the kids, a rock climbing wall, music areas, mazes, AND giant saucer swings where the kids can lay down in them while some one swings them. Wow I rambled on… I really loved my playgrounds!
Here’s a swing challenge. You do not even have to pump your legs to swing in a swing; you can get it going just by leaning back and forth and pulling the chains in and out. Give it a try.
Oh Susan, how you took me right back. I remember the very same thing! I could stand when the girls twirled the merry-go-round but had to hold on for dear life when the boys gave it a go.
I’m at the library (babysitter is watching the kids, so where do I go for some down time? To the library of course, so I can get on the computer uninterrupted.) and I actually laughed out loud when I read about the kid who pushed you down the slide head first because of shunning his pretend ticket. I jumped right into the WayBack Machine with that one!
That cement hamster wheel thing sounds like fun! But it also sounds like it would hurt once I inevitably fell down. Maybe it would work if I wore elbow and knee pads.
You should know I am going to try to get the swing going without pumping my legs now. I rarely turn down a challenge. Except when a roller coaster is involved.
Hi C-Girl,
Yes, now that I think about it merry go rounds are pretty hard to find these days. They just built a new playground in our neighborhood and it doesn’t have one. It has a slide a “house” for kids to climb in and all that stuff, but no merry go round. I think you must be right — somebody must have decided they are a safety issue. It’s amazing all the things that my generation and yours survived when we grew up.
By the way, did you have swings on the playground at your elementary school. We did and they were really big and exciting. You could probably get at least 15 feet off the ground if you got going. I suppose if I went back and saw the swings today they would really only be about 10 feet high – but things always seem bigger when you’re a kid.
Did you ever do “tail spins” on the swing set? We weren’t supposed to, but every time the teacher on playground duty turned his/her back we did. Just think what an issue the “safety police” would have with something like that now.
Have a great day.
Hi Don. It does seem so wrong not to have merry-go-rounds OR teeter totters anymore.
We did, indeed, have swings on the playground at school and I felt the same way, that I must have been at least a good 12 feet off the ground when I was swinging. Those were the swings I described, the flat ones that had black rubber with parallel lines etched in the rubber. How I loved those swings.
I think a tail spin is when you use your feet to twirl, twirl, twirl the chains of the swing as tight as possible and then let go so your entire body will twirl in the swing. Yes, we did that, but I don’t remember getting in trouble for it. It was not verboten back at my elementary school.
Wow. It certainly sounds like you had a good time. I’m jealous. :lol:
This is sort of sad to admit, Solomon, but I think it was the most fun I have had since December and the whole hospital thing. I think I need to swing on the swingset more often.
FUN!!! I was just commenting on merry-go-rounds to my husband as we happened to see one on an episode of Dallas. I miss those rides, I miss the swings you talked about as well. I think therapist’s offices should have a swing like that so that we can live in the moment. Now if I could only find one around here so I can feel and be aware of the moment (trying to work on being in the moment).
Wouldn’t that be awesome chaos3, if the therapist set you up with your own swing as soon as you got there and then 20 minutes into the session you would go sit on the couch and talk it out for the remaining 30 minutes?
The playground we used to love to take Gracie to in Washington had a merry-go-round!!! Only I called it the “spin thing” because “merry-go-round” makes me think of “carousel,” the one with the horses that you ride at a fair. Here’s a photo!! We used to get that thing spinning and spinning and spinning, with Kurt pushing us. A very strong 275lb man can really get it going!! Grace also loves to push it for the littler kids.
I was a MAJOR fan of the swings as a kid, and if we take Grace to the park (both me AND Kurt), you will definitely find me on the swings. I tend not to go as high anymore, mainly because I weigh a lot more and I am afraid of breaking the damn thing. When we lived in VA, my school had TWELVE swings, which was plenty for the number of kids that wanted to swing. I would go as high as I could, and wait for the stomach-dropping sensation. But then after I finished 4th grade, we moved to Illinois, where the playground had just THREE swings! THREE!!! That meant that I spent most of my recess waiting for my turn on the swings. It was awful.
I ADORE playing on the playground with Grace. I find the mothers that sit on the sidelines and just watch their kids are fuddy-duddies. There’s always room for a little playtime!
Damn straight, blue. I knew I liked you for a reason. Of course we live at least 1,000 miles away, but you are with me at the playground, in my mind’s eye. And we compete to see who can go higher on the swings. I’ll give you a head start, since you are with child :)
p.s. Just saw the picture and I am SO jealous of you and your roomy merry-go-round! How awesome is that?!
Hello from the still-menaced by the dreaded HS ghetto… I love love the swings, and I do push the merry-go-round, only until it gets REALLY going, then I jump on and enjoy the rest of the ride. And I HATE the teeter totters. There is a children’s “ride” area called Storyland in City Park in New Orleans, and it has a small but fun! roller coaster, and a carousel, which the natives call the “Flying Horses”, I used to love to go to City Park to ride the Flying Horses.
That sucks, Elle, that HaloScan is doing this to us. I still liked my green VIP Lounge. Grrr.
That park sounds like a good time. Next chance I get to go to New Orleans, I’m there. After hanging with you, of course :)
It is amazing how many people still relish their childhood memories of playgrounds! Count me in. My parents and I were just discussing my all-time-favorite one growing up. It was somewhere in or near St. Louis and was called Queenie Park. The thing I remember best about this park was that it had a zip line. It must have been a pretty sturdy one because I remember my dad riding it with us.
I will do the swings, but, like others, I can’t seem to take the merry-go-round if it is really crankin’. We do have one at our park and MS is bound to get killed on it. He tries everything he sees the older kids doing. The other day he was standing up, no hands!
Here’s a question for you. If your park had a creek (murky brown, mind you), would you bring your kids in their swim suits and let them wade and swim in it? This is all I hear about when we go on our walks because MS sees all the other kids in the creek and he wants to be right in there, too! When my parents came to visit, my dad walked with me and my mom waited on a bench near the creek. She saw two snakes go by. Yikes!
I actually *did* live near a creek as a kid and it was just as disgusting as you are describing. *And* there was a playground area right next to it. I never, ever saw any kids in swim suits playing in that nasty water. So my answer has to be NO (screaming so loud your hair is flying back from your head.)
well maybe you can ask your therapist to get a swing set in her office. wouldn’t that be fun, you could swing and talk. shoot i would like that myself.
what happened to the merry go rounds? the children got meaner and saw it as an opportunity to fling a kid out the park. i almost did the same thing to my child, the one i love.
That would be so awesome, I would see her every week, for sure, if she installed a swing set in her office. I would sneak in there when she was gone on weekends and talk to the walls. While I was swinging, of course.
Those merry-go-rounds must have been too dangerous. But I love, love, loved them!
I *do* like how we get to see what category you file your posts in now.
Yesterday when I left my first comment, I got a teeny little pop-up when I hit submit comment, but I did have some other windows open so your blog might not have been the culprit. Plus nothing happened when I left the follow-up comment.
Perhaps I raised the alarm prematurely…
Isn’t that a fun change? I find when I have three or more categories selected, it wraps the number of comments around so it will say 6 and then “comments” is on the line below. Grrr. Oh well, I’ll have to limit myself to two categories, I guess.
I hope it’s not giving an annoying pop up. That’s not what I’m going for.
Every time my wife and I visit my parents in Valdosta, GA we head to the park with the marry-go-round. They don’t seem to have them in many parks any more, and I can’t understand why. I love them. There really is nothing like the G-Force of hanging outside with your legs tucked in tight.
You’re right, it is a great head rush. I know now why I liked them as a child.
Too bad we couldn’t form some kind of Bring ‘Em Back coalition to reinstate merry-go-rounds in every park in America. Since there are no other worthy causes that need attention right now.
Ah yes, I remember having a merry-go-round in the recess area of my first school. I think I attended between the ages of 4 to 7. We had one with the raised metal Xs too… and I remember how much fun we had on that thing. We’d lie on the floor while somebody turned the ‘go-round, and wait until it got fast enough to start spinning us off. Yes, physics in action. I haven’t thought about those playground days in ages… thanks for the trip down memory lane =) **HUGS!!**
See, ask a scientist about the merry-go-round and you get the actual answer — physics in action. Ask a writer and you learn about her psychedelic head trip. Po-tay-to, poh-tah-to, I guess. I still enjoyed the real answer. Thanks Chris!
Oh, I happen to like swings too! I guess it gives us a sense of freedom, not unlike the experience of being in 0 gravity. In Golden Gate Park, there are numerous playgrounds with swings. I frequently them quite often.
I like the merry-go-rounds too, but for a different reason. I actually like the slightly dizziness state it produces. Walking with wobbly feet after getting off from it is the fun part (to me anyway).
Do your swings (in Golden Gate Park) have the nice flat board as the seat, or do they have that rubber, flexible U shape? Too bad I’ll never get to San Francisco in this life time. It would be fun to check out that park.
Solidarity in Merry-Go-Rounds, brother!