Playground Days

Who doesn't fondly recall...jumping all about...running and screaming outside...during recess...in our younger days...It's hard not to imagine...those times...not being some of the most care-free, joyous times we all look back upon with a chuckle or two...during our immensely fun Playground Days...

And my days, for those recess times, that spanned 20-30 minutes, at Saint Thomas More...out in the parking lot...a hard, blacktop surface, that seemed to stretch endlessly...never, ever appeared anything less than an oasis...from our drudgery of daily school life...

Sure, other schools may have had grass...or maybe swings or even monkey bars...but it really never phased us one single bit...because, once out there, the laughter and happiness of being a kid, took over, and propelled our imagination, our strong legs and arms...and our endlessly loud, howls at each other...all creating a symphonic bit of a frenzy...not one single one of us...can now...re-enact...but do vividly recall...

All of us...such a bundle of energy...scattering, battering, screaming all about, here and there...some of the girls playing jump rope, some of the boys playing tag...It was rather simplistic...but there was never a dull moment...in our early, early years....

As we grew taller...our spirits and wits only grew higher...and our boundless energy...made us quite a bunch to control and corral...as our recesses would fly by, ever so quickly, then wind down...in no time at all...during our middle grades...

One of the things, that was quite unique for our school recess time...at Saint Thomas More...was a game for us boys, we called, Smear The Queer...a mashed mix of rugby, football & hooliganism...at its finest...This faded blacktop, sometimes snowy, sometimes filled with puddles,became our battleground...feet pounding...people chasing...shirts ripping...mouths bleeding...One second, you are scott free...running wild...frantically scampering...

Then suddenly, running out of breath...within seconds...looking all about...realizing you are cornered...and expecting to be smothered with clash of elbows and fists and bodies colliding in a furious motion...of activity...scaring you with a bit of horror and pain...

All the girls could do...is look on...and cringe...and laugh...and cover their eyes...and by all means, stay out of our way...as us thunderous herd of boys, came perilously close to death, in a funny kind of playground madness...

Most of the time...there we were...starting off our recess...we'd roll up a winter cap...into a ball...and just throw it up in the air...and off...the chase was on...We all had our moment in the sun...smashing, crashing, breaking loose...and forging past...a brick wall of kids all vying for that curled-up winter cap...It was a tremendous feeling of exhileration, beyond wild compare at the time...And it was more often, than not...a hellacious battle between some of the tougher kids, getting mean and ornery, would erupt...if the tangled melee got a little too rough and dicey...

Surely...Punches flew, angry glances shared and usually a bit of wild laughter resulted when it was all said and done...as we plodded back into the school...our clothes in tatters and our minds a clouded haze of rage...sometimes bleeding, sometimes not...but everyone of us, felt like we just ran a damn marathon...and could easily pant and gasp...for at least, another good 5 minutes...to just wind down...

Inevitably, the beat-downs of Smear, subsided, as the teachers tried to introduce us to more civilized activities...KICK-BALL was introduced...as a game for both girls & boys to play with, at the same time...which was quite fun...in around the 6th Grade...I do remember being out on the black-top, during kick-ball, playing Second Base...when the rather large red ball came quickly bounding directly at me...awkwardly catching me off-balance...My eyes were forced to look down at the ball, locking it in, as it punched into my gut...

and then suddenly...WHAMMY...this brazen, tom-boy, of a girl, a freaking runaway train called, Kathy Callahan, came barreling into me, Pete Rose style...wiping me out...forcing the ball to drop out of my hands...and sending me sprawling, flat to the pavement, scraping my knees, and knocking the wind out of me...leaving me endlessly...quite embarassed a mere girl, had just cleared me out...completely...

I did manage, to stagger, then, stand back up, at that moment...a little woozy, a little dizzy...but mostly the utter red, red, red, embarrassment, was the most startling thing I do recall from such an encounter...There Kathy stood back up, on Second Base, victoriously, with a very big smile on her face...and I think all the crazy kids were cracking up...because the trainwreck collision was quite a doozy...and I always did manage to keep a close eye on Kathy Callahan, from that point on, expecting her to try something like that again...

Then for a brief time...we tried to play...QUARTERS... a fun little bit of magic...tossing coins between cracks on the pavement...It was quite a hoot...cuz' we all had the potential, to toss a ripe quarter into a crack...and maybe win...a few bucks...and the undeniable pride...of being just about as cool as it gets...back then...

As our final year, out on the pavement, came winding down, our 8th Grade teacher Mister Sullivan, made us play soccer...We all thought he was crazy...Soccer...????...What the hell is that...???...But he made it his passion to get us to play our hardest and eventually we did catch on and it was a blast...making Mister Sullivan, very happy...he succeeded in introducing this new sport, soccer to us, to understand and enjoy...

Well....recess is over...I hear the bell...ringing...and ringing....and ringing...

Yes...stop now...stop playing...it's over...QUIT PLAYING!!!...Did you hear me...???...March back into here...right this very second...You heard me...

Awwwwww...not already....Yuuuuccckkk...I don't wanna go back to school...

Yes....You said that then...but now realize...you'd jump at a heartbeat...to go back in time...to those illustrious...Playground Days...all of us...every single, one of us...who cherishes...and holds, those moments, so near and dear, to our hearts...