When it comes to exercise, I can lie around with the best of them, watching Netflix, eating popcorn, and generally being a sloth. The good news is that I don’t allow myself to go without regular exercise for very long. Part of it is vanity, part of it is not wanting to be pushing a walker in a few years’ time, and part of it is having the knowledge that exercise is good for us, and can prevent a number of physical conditions as well as have a hugely powerful effect on the brain. Anything that aids the brain is a good thing, right?
Our bodies are meant to move. Babies and children are constantly in motion, veritable whirling dervishes. When children engage in play, they are developing both gross motor and fine motor skills. They require constant exercise in order to develop in an optimal way. The problem is that society has changed in the last three decades, and suddenly the outdoors is a place where children are rarely seen. It seems like an avenging angel came down when we weren’t looking and spirited away all the little children. No longer is the air filled with the delightful sounds of children at play. Most of the sedentary children that the angels left behind can be found behind closed doors, watching TV, or playing on electronics.
I’m old school. I’m practically at the point where I want to tell any who will listen that I walked five miles to school uphill both ways. It wouldn’t be that far off the mark, even though it is a bit of a stretch. But here’s a truth. In reference to what I call the good ole days, and believe me, they more than lived up to their name and then some, we as children practically lived outdoors. For one, it got us away from the adults who would think up unsavory chores for us to do if we even hinted at being bored. For another, we loved the outdoors. It is no lie that we were kicked outside shortly after breakfast on weekends and during holidays. No one thought to ask us where we were going, or when we might be returning. They knew that we had built in devices that let us know when it was lunch time. We would stop in just long enough to fuel up and then disappear until supper time. After supper we stayed out until the street lights came on, and that was far too early for our liking.
The neighborhood I grew up in was full of kids, and most of us in the same age range so we had a number of potential playmates. Bullying was practically unheard of in those days and something to be avoided because it would end in serious reprisal for the offending party. Bullying someone meant a swift kick in the ass, and so we subsequently learned how to side-step conflict and get along. We made up rules for games, negotiated, cooperated with one another, and took turns. Aside from tricycles and bikes, we had scarce outdoor gear. In other words, no modern day skateboards, scooters, or fancy roller blades. Back then it was roller skates. And that was only if you were affluent. Those who were lucky enough to own a pair of skates had bragging rights to archaic contraptions resembling leg hold traps that were fastened onto the bottom of each foot. They were accessorized by a large metal key that was used to make them expand or collapse depending on the size of the foot.
Back then we played rousing games of backyard soccer, hop scotch, Red Light/Greenlight, Mother May I, Dodge ball, kick the can, Simon Says, and the dreaded Red Rover. I say dreaded because Red Rover could land you in the hospital or knock the wind out of you if some big kid slammed you in the throat when you were hoping to break through the line and end up in one piece. Conversely, if some husky urchin was bearing down on you like a speeding locomotive, it was best to drop your arm just before he or she made contact. The ensuing pain was never worth the triumph of winning.
We also played marbles in the dirt and drew on sidewalks with colored chalk to play hop-scotch. We played Double Dutch with our skipping ropes for hours, trying to improve our scores, and pitting ourselves against one another. When we grew tired of that we trudged miles to the frog pond to collect tadpoles. Rarely did they ever develop into full-fledged frogs. Most of them would start to develop small vestigial legs and then die from lack of adequate food. It never dawned on us that perhaps we were being cruel.
Back then we relied on our imaginations. A stick and string became a bow and arrow, an elastic band and forked stick, a slingshot, flowers and weeds, food for our open air cafes. The outdoors belonged to us alone and was exclusively our domain and refuge from the world of adults.
The kids of today have been robbed in my opinion. While I concede that it is a far more dangerous world out there for them to be wandering around freely without protection and the watchful eye of an adult, I feel I have witnessed the death of an era that represented freedom and innocence.
Seeking the Light 