I had to go pick up Patty’s medicine this morning, a journey of several miles that took me past a number of parks and playgrounds.
Where is everybody?
It’s a Sunday in the summer. The heat wave has broken, it’s nice outside. So where is everybody? Have we come in on the tail end of a doomsday movie?
Oh, the clink of horseshoes! The aroma of hamburgers sizzling on the grill. The crack of bat on ball. My father used to take advantage of daylight savings time to run out to Farrington Lake for a little fishing, after work. He always took us with him. I miss that!
But where is everybody? Why let this beautiful day go to waste?
I don’t know, On weekdays the main sign of life is traffic. That eases up on weekends and you find yourself driving around an abandoned landscape.
I think I’ll go back outside now.
I think kids have forgotten how to play.
You are 100% right.
People are forgetting how to work, too.
You won’t hear me arguing against this.
Electronics keeps lots people engaged nowadays. We’ve gained a lot in this the computer age but we’ve lost a lot in the process. People are tied to their electronics and gadgets like never before. I listen to our local talk station and one commercial that’s bothers me whenever it’s aired is one issued by the government. “Whether you dance, jump, or run, just getting up and moving for an hour…….,” I can’t stand to hear it. And this is for children and their parents. Before the advent of computer technology and electronics people entertained themselves by getting out in the sunshine. Families got together for picnics in local parks and kids ran around playing games. Someone would bring a set of horse shoes and posts and that would get a workout with everyone trying to beat everyone else. Yeah, we’ve gained a lot with all the convenience and ease afforded by our electronic gadgets and computers but we’ve lost so much more.
It looks so weird, all those empty playgrounds. Like a set for “The Last Man on Earth.”
I see the same lack of outside activity, and it is disturbing to me.
It doesn’t seem normal, and it gives me the willies.
If it makes you feel any better, my neighborhood is always full of kids running around outside and families walking with strollers and dogs. The weather rarely deters them. We don’t have a park close enough to walk to, but yards and sidewalks see plenty of life. And I do smell grills and fire pits often enough. Maybe you should move out to the Midwest, Lee. 🙂
Been there–and really it’s very nice.