Althouse: Ohio playground.

May 17, 2009

Ohio playground.

22 comments:

rhhardin said...: There are two dogs.; 5/17/09, 7:04 AM
hdhouse said...: that's Jean Schmidt's district I believe...hence the ever present dark clouds even above playgrounds.; 5/17/09, 7:05 AM
rhhardin said...: Those self-same clouds came through the Central Ohio backyard yesterday, with their precursor to the north first.; 5/17/09, 7:20 AM
rhhardin said...: Backyard early this morning reveals native Ohio wildlife, dog, rabbit and cat.; 5/17/09, 7:36 AM
ricpic said...: Under a lowering sky
The children play,
Come swing me high
Come what may.; 5/17/09, 7:42 AM
Bissage said...: That sliding board looks way too safe.

The elementary school I went to (circa 1970) had one 20 feet tall made of stainless steel supported by galvanized pipes. The side guards were maybe 6 inches high and there was a “bump” built into it halfway down that could launch you airborne if you worked it just right.

We used to bring sheets of wax paper from home to shine it up and make it as slippery as possible. Man, you would zoom down that thing scared shitless. There was a huge crater in the gravel at the bottom dug by the impact of a thousand Buster Browns.

The idea was to demonstrate your mad skilz by flying over the crater and then falling forward onto the grass. You definitely did not want to land on the far edge of the crater and then get bounced backwards toward the slide’s front edge. That was to be avoided at all costs.

There was many a bruise and laceration caused by that mega-toy. It was one of the happier ways we learned respect for the natural world and for each other. Boys and girls played together. All were equal before the awesome power of that sliding board.

But then Bobby Simmers had to go and fall off over the side and break his arm. The grown-ups came and took it down.

They say it’s true and they are correct. You can’t go home again.; 5/17/09, 8:00 AM
Issob Morocco said...: Ohio's true playground is Grand Lake St. Mary's.

This is merely a poseur.; 5/17/09, 8:00 AM
traditionalguy said...: This may be an early childhood lesson in golf: Do I go to the course when the clouds hint at rain? This is an ever present conundrum for Sunday morning golfers thinking about whether to skip church. Early experiences playing outside under threatening weather may be good for future Tigers. But this area could also be a pre-school Putt Putt course.; 5/17/09, 8:05 AM
KCFleming said...: Lucy Van Pelt: Aren't the clouds beautiful? They look like big balls of cotton. I could just lie here all day and watch them drift by. If you use your imagination, you can see lots of things in the cloud's formations. What do you think you see, Linus?

Linus: Well, those clouds up there look to me look like a metaphor for the impending financial disaster before us, which plans are being irrevocably laid at the rate of $1Billion per hour by a profligate and corrupt government, creating a debt so massive that our children's children will spit when they say our names. I can even see Nancy Pelosi lying, Obama standing there to one side, head tilted and smiling.

Lucy Van Pelt: Uh huh. That's very good. What do you see in the clouds, Charlie Brown?

Charlie Brown: Well... I was going to say I saw a duckie and a horsie, but I changed my mind.; 5/17/09, 8:56 AM
Wince said...: The pouty older brother on the swing already seems bored, the yonger one still shows exhileration, while mom gabs on the phone.

Bissage, Could have used that waspaper tip some 40 years ago! The sand crater at the bottom of our slide was rimmed by poured cement, which is where most kids planted their feet if they went fast enough and were lucky.

While some of the safety changes on playgrounds are just common sense, some probably go too far.

Think about this: just wait until they detect a single mold spore inside that covered slide.; 5/17/09, 9:32 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: I find the back yards in Ohio (and other places in the midwest and also in the rural areas of Oregon) very weird. You have a lot of grass, chain link fences but no privacy, no landscaping. I would at least have some high bushes against the chain link fence for privacy with flower beds below them to break up the expanse of lawn.

It seems that there are no decks, gazebos, outdoor kitchens, built in day beds, stone scapes, paver or cobble walkways, covered patios, hot tubs, fire pits. Don't people spend time outside in their yards entertaining in Ohio? I'm not trying to be snarky or critical. I just find it weird. Is it because of the bugs?; 5/17/09, 10:01 AM
rhhardin said...: If you're not doing anything wrong, you don't need privacy.; 5/17/09, 10:13 AM
SJL said...: The problem with Ohio is that it is so flat (except for the southwest part).; 5/17/09, 11:14 AM
SJL said...: excuse me - I meant to say the southeast part; 5/17/09, 11:16 AM
William said...: Some see lowering clouds. Some see children playing. Some see a rather phallic shaped contraption pointing to a rather oval shaped contraption. The world as Rorschach test....It's not me. You're the one who keeps posting these dirty pictures.; 5/17/09, 11:31 AM
Jen said...: I miss thunderstorms.; 5/17/09, 12:07 PM
traditionalguy said...: On may 17th it is 62 f. and overcast with t-storms followed by cooler temps forecast for tonight and tomorrow. We are in Georgia, not Ontario. Somebody please tell Al Gore that he can stop cooling the planet so fast now.; 5/17/09, 4:10 PM
save_the_rustbelt said...: Issob:

One night many years ago some of us guys from the construction crew decided to drink our way around Grand Lake - in one night.

We should have counted, there were 36 bars at that time.

We did not get too far.

The next morning when the diesel engines fired up I thought I would die.

Fond memories.; 5/17/09, 7:24 PM
Anonymous said...: The problem with Ohio is the taxes.

that and that they think the people in northern kentucky and southern Indiana are southerners and don't have good enough schools.

I would post a picture of a playground in KY that was overflowing, but i don't have the permission of the many children who were there and were strangers to me.; 5/18/09, 4:55 AM
Keith said...: Watch out! they will haul you away for taking pictures of other peoples kids. I think I better warn "commenter" about the phrase, 'playground overflowing in KY' which is sure to land you on the perv list.; 5/18/09, 10:23 AM
Anonymous said...: commenter probably is on someone's perv list anyway.
I'm also on someone's high maintenance woman list, but that guy is an idiot anyway.

And i don't post pictures of other kids or grown ups because I don't like much to have my picture taken and then posted on some blog where smart professorial, lawyerly, and mensa type can poke fun or say thinks like I'd like to grind that cougar.

commenter was practicing pullups on the playground just to make sure she still has some punch incase she actually does get on the real pervs list. Hoping that doesn't apply here.; 5/18/09, 12:06 PM
Issob Morocco said...: Dear Count Rusty Belt, glad to have spurred some fondness for the Grand Lake. I am just starting some moments for my virtual scrapbook.

Have tackled the west end, will motivate myself to hit the east from the north and swing around the south to the west.

I will take your sage advice and avoid diesel in the morning!

Cheers!; 5/19/09, 6:36 AM