All the lonely playgrounds

We have our share of problems in society. 

A burgeoning debt that threatens to swamp our financial well being. A moral decay that has devastated the family structure. An aging society that will tax our resources. 

But the need to Play might just be most important thing missing from our world. 

I drove past the park just past Alameda Avenue. It’s a gorgeous piece of property with a top notch playground. Every community has more than one, just like this, financed by tax monies and cared for by municipal authorities. The grass is carefully groomed. The equipment new and completely safe. The grounds free of trash.  

The swings float silently in the breeze. The slides gleam in the afternoon sun. The horses on the springs smile at the barren grounds.  

The playground is empty.

Photo via Flikr, Latent Photos

So maybe the kids are elsewhere? 

I drive down up Flora and up 3rd street, looking for the children. But it’s like one of those old movies where aliens took children away to live in a distant planet.  

Children’s bikes hang in the garages in sad repose. Balls are stacked in the corner, deflated by constant rejection. 

Has the Sunday afternoon lawn football game been replaced by Madden 2011? Has the hide and seek over at Billy’s been replaced by hours in the den, with faces aglow from flickering images? Has throwing rocks in the creek with your buds been supplanted by Facebook friending?  

Where, oh Play have you gone? And if you are forever disappeared, what will replace you?


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