Pickles by Brian Crane for February 27, 2018

As a kid my most dangerous activity wasn’t swings, monkey bars, bicycles or even jumping off cliffs. No, it was building forts out of old lumber. Seems like I was always stepping on a nail. Which meant a trip to hospital for a Tetanus shot. Then the rest of the afternoon looking for nails sticking up so I could either pull them out (for reuse) or hammer them over.

Oh and I’ve got scars from the barb wire but that another story.

what an adventurous soul you were, Earl

Since my skin has gotten thinner that dog bite on my hand sure shows up now. And there are scratches and cuts that I just don’t remember the acquiring of. Then there is the reminder of all those times I took a hammer to a roll of caps – tinnitus. I saw more people get hurt in gym class than I ever saw as a result of the playground equipment.

I don’t remember anyone getting seriously hurt on the playground and we had all the equipment. I guess we took risks. But we had fun. If you scraped your knee or hurt yourself a bit it wasn’t anything serious. Worst that happened was my brother falling off his skateboard and hitting his head near his eye and needing a few stitches. It could’ve been worse. But all this mollycoddling and wrapping kids up in cotton balls so they can’t do anything is ridiculous.

Scars teach.

Grandpa doesn’t have much sense to tell Nelson those things.

You don’t do anything then you don’t get scars. I have my share.

My mother used to tell me that by the time I turned 21 that I’d be six feet of scar tissue. O the good ole days!

Plenty of swings, see saws and climbing frames in the parks I passed today.

If the municipality successfully fights all of the frivolous lawsuits, they can keep the play equipment in their local parks. Those that capitulate to the trial lawyers will eventually have nothing but grass and trees, with maybe a few benches.

When hubby and I were first married, a lot of our conversations revolved around “how did you get that scar”? It’s a wonder he and his brother survived their childhood.

It’s called ‘avoiding a lawsuit’.

I have scars on my knee from the time my sisters pushed me out of the apple tree, and I broke my arm when they pushed me down the basement stairs in a cardboard box; but nothing from the playground. Don’t talk to my sisters these days.

Yep, go to the “nth” degree to protect them from playground injuries and when they’re older, send them off to war where a bruise, bump, scrape, or cut is totally insignificant. Makes perfect sense — NOT!

Just ban brothers from the playground. When I was a toddler, I walked in front of one of my brothers on a swing. He smashed into me and left a crease in my forehead that I still have.

And the x-rays are even better.

I took a lot of risks when young but the only injury I ever got was a bloody nose when playing Hopscotch. Another girl wanted to play where my friends and I were, and I told her to go away. She punched me in the nose. We both ended up in the Principal’s office, but I had to make a stop at the nurse’s office first.

Surviving childhood is supposed to be part of the evolutionary process.

It’s the parents these days that are the wimps. Keep their children so close to them that they don’t let them do anything fun. Coddle them and give them anything they want. Don’t know how to say no. The parents are doing everything for the kids. Or just sitting them in front of the tv so they don’t have to watch them. Kids are lazy. Parent’s are lazier.

This is the result of some parents trying, and succeeding, in ruining it for the rest. Mu daughter/son got hurt when they fell off the monkey bars. You need to close the entire playground because of that. Yes, there are some unfortunate moments, as others here have described. That still shouldn’t be cause for this nonsense, ut that’s what happens when lawyers get involved.

As a child, I drank out of the garden hose, I ate dirt/mud, had butter that wasn’t refrigerated, ate a chicken/tuna/egg salad sandwich which had been left in the baking sun. I’m still alive. Many others who did that are as well. Of course, I waited 30 minutes after eating before going back in the water.

when you are over 60 and have no scars, you have no stories to tell the grandchildren. so you make them up!!! however, if you do have scars you can have GREAT stories – just make them up!!!!! like the scar on my finger that I got when I dangled from a high power electrical line in the middle of a blizzard so that…………………………………… or the scar on my forehead where I charged head first into the door to help me escape from…………….. lol – it gives us- me and the grandchildren – lots of entertainment without resorting to the TV, Videos, and/or internet.

Yeah, all those scars are reminders to be more careful. A life’s lesson.

Yeah, all those scars are reminders to be more careful. A life’s lesson.

Ah, so many members of “The Older I get, the better it was” group. Most schools don’t have those pieces of equipment because of lawsuits blaming teachers/schools for dereliction of duty.

I don’t know Earl, those look a lot like varicose veins to me.

Ah… Scars and preventative experience for the more dangerous things in life.

Me too, Earl, and since I was tomboy I got mine from roller skating (in those old fashioned metal skates with the key), playing ice hockey, regular ice skating, football, and as for swings we had a blast going real high and jumping off and tumbling LOL

1967, I was around 10, was over at Aunt Coco’s place (look up actress Lillian Yarbo, it was her) i was swinging too hard on her swing, lost my grip, and was launched into the air.. landed on the bottom of my chin and needed 9 stitches (feeling the scar right now) Parent’s didn’t freak out.

I’ve got those scars too…