I am no different than any kid growing up… I just did it in the 50s. When I was a kid there were no Nintendo games, or PCs, or computer games. <\/p>\n
Different times I guess. What amuses us, or how we seek to be amused. <\/p>\n
Don’t get me wrong, I am not one to complain. As an “adult”, I found great joy in the Legend of Zelda <\/em>and the Oregon Trail… <\/em>two games that we had for the kids that I fancied. <\/p>\n But as a kid, my world was largely one of my <\/em>invention… the simplest of “props” would be the source for hours of play. <\/p>\n Take our staircase, for example… from our downstairs hall 10 stairs to the landing, and another 4 stairs up to the second floor hall. It was fully carpeted. This you must know, or what follows will appear more ridiculous than it actually was. <\/p>\n But first, a small, but somewhat related digression. When was the last time you rolled down a hill? You know… spread yourself out, and let gravity take its course… slowly at first, and then accelerating as your form rolls down the grassy hill like a log… bumping hither and yon. For the record, I did it in front of Suzy’s dorm last year. She has a perfect hill made for this activity. One sunny afternoon I was waiting for Suzy to come down from her room and I saw some little kids rolling down the hill and giggling… what can I say? I couldn’t resist. <\/p>\n When I was a kid, our staircase took on the form of an indoor hill. No grass. Just carpet. I would go half way up, pick a stair of my choosing, sit down, give myself a little forward push, let momentum take over, and thump my way to the bottom. Sometimes I would begin the journey from the stair at the landing. <\/p>\n But if I decided to make my “run” from the landing, more often than not, I would flip over to my belly, spread out length wise… and slide<\/em> down the stairs… somewhat like a human “slinky”. <\/p>\n These forms of staircase play would occupy me briefly… you know your tush or belly can only take so much of a beating. <\/p>\n When I got a bit older, our staircase morphed into a field for athletic contests. I must have seen Paul race into the house and run up the stairs two and three at a time. And while he may have been the inspiration, my pursuit of excellence in this endeavor was purely solitary. I spent many an hour running up those stairs. <\/p>\n I can remember the joy when I was finally able to do three stairs. And then there was the day when I began my approach from the den, picking up speed in the living room and then jumped three steps followed by another <\/em>three! <\/p>\n The real test would be to make the landing in three jumps. This I couldn’t do until I was a teenager… four steps (that was hard enough), followed by three and then another three. <\/p>\n “Downhill” events were also part of the sport. There was not much variety here… it was simply a matter of what stair you would use as a launch pad to the hall below… and, of course, how far into the hall did you land. <\/p>\n Quite unintentionally I set the record in this event in 1966, my senior year at Hamden Hall. Earlier in the day I had broken my leg on the gridiron. After the game, Paul (it was the only time he saw me play football) took me to the hospital where a cast was put on my left leg from my toes to mid-thigh. My football career was at an end. <\/p>\n But that not withstanding, I was scheduled to take Ellen to our homecoming dance that night (it was to be our first formal date). Back at the house I changed, I knew I was running late, I was rushing and not yet skilled in the art of using crutches… <\/p>\n I fell down the stairs face first. That would be from stair #8… clearly a record. Although not great distance into the hall. <\/p>\n It was a miracle that I sustained no further injury, save to my pride. <\/p>\n Well… you know, no one ever got hurt playing Legend of Zelda… <\/em>and pride is but a small matter when you consider the glories of the staircase. <\/p>\n Let me think about this for a second… OK, here it is… One part heart, one part athletic ability, two parts imagination & give me a staircase any day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I am no different than any kid growing up… I just did it in the 50s. When I was a kid there were no Nintendo games, or PCs, or computer games. Different times I guess. What amuses us, or how … Continue reading