What happened to the sprinkler? What happened to hosing each other down? What happened to the small squirt gun and the kids of New York ripping off the cap on the fire-hydrant? The Norman Rockwell days are gone. And, even though there are massive water parks in every city, I still miss the sprinkler in my back yard.
Yes, those HUGE, COLOURFUL, TWISTED concoctions where parents watch their special babes blast one another with cannon-sized guns and slide down twisted slippery-slides. It's like a fortress or a Museum of Modern Sprinklers. But, do they know the kids they're slip, sliding away with. I don't think so!
When I was Wee Willy, I could bare my ass and jump through the sprinkler in my back yard with the best of them. I had my pets around me, Mom just yards away baking chocolate chippers and a smile on my face! We did make lemon out of lemonade! Sure, it was a small sprinkler shared by five or six neighborhood kids...but we never complained. We didn't need 'bigger and better', we were making things happen.
I don't know if kids make things happen these days. Everything is so instant, so available, so kiddie proof. I think it's dull. Yes, the massive red, blue and yellow spraying creatures are a sight to behold but, it's temporary fun. Children don't need everything on a silver platter or parks built for them so they can yell at their parents at 7:00 A.M., "I WANT TO GO TO THE WATER PARK!!"
I used to spend hours over that small sprinkler. I'd look at the rainbows it created, shiver with joy as it came my way, lower my huggies onto the line of spray-holes and squeal with utter delight! Then, Randy, Debbie, Suzie, Billy and I would line up (we always were polite and formed a line!) and cheer one another on as we made that slow motion LEAP INTO THE AIR and had lines of water spray up our tiny noses.
There was no big trip to the DAIRYQUEEN or MACDONALD'S afterwards for 'more' indulgence...we just lay on the grass and let the drops fall from the sky, knowing our Moms would be churning out meatloaf at 5 pm. All the dots connected...the sprinkler..the friends...family time...and SATISFACTION. The city didn't have to build me a monstrous park or sabotage my relationship with my parents. I didn't have to be polite at a water park. Kids who got THERE FIRST, GOT THE TOY, OR THE SLIDE, OR THE WATER CANNON GUN. Sharing isn't really an option!
And we used to make these long water slides too. We added Mom's dish soap and set it up on the boulevard. We ran like the dickens and put our bodies into elastic positions then shot down that cheap piece of clear plastic like pigs in oil. Good Golly it was Great!
Even the household HOSE was a 'toy' of water world potential. Gee, I remember just putting my thumb over the top and spraying water on all my friends. Mind you, the Bully on the Block was present and chased me into my house trying to bean me with his fist. So, you have to have a few boundaries when you decide to dose your pals. We put the hose down our bathing suits, sprayed our pets and even drank from it when when we were exhausted. All, without even getting into the car or walking to a bus stop.
I wish Norman Rockwell had been the President of the United States because he would have banned giant water parks, cell phones, cheap toys, strip malls and more. We would have real family values, real memories made from scratch and real friends to share them with.
Mind you...I did need this computer to share my thoughts! What would Norman think?
What happened to the sprinkler? What happened to hosing each other down? What happened to the small squirt gun and the kids of New York ripping off the cap on the fire-hydrant? The Norman Rockwell days are gone. And, even though there are massive water parks in every city, I still miss the sprinkler in my back yard.
When I was Wee Willy, I could bare my ass and jump through the sprinkler in my back yard with the best of them. I had my pets around me, Mom just yards away baking chocolate chippers and a smile on my face! We did make lemon out of lemonade! Sure, it was a small sprinkler shared by five or six neighborhood kids...but we never complained. We didn't need 'bigger and better', we were making things happen.
I don't know if kids make things happen these days. Everything is so instant, so available, so kiddie proof. I think it's dull. Yes, the massive red, blue and yellow spraying creatures are a sight to behold but, it's temporary fun. Children don't need everything on a silver platter or parks built for them so they can yell at their parents at 7:00 A.M., 
I used to spend hours over that small sprinkler. I'd look at the rainbows it created, shiver with joy as it came my way, lower my huggies onto the line of spray-holes and squeal with utter delight! Then, Randy, Debbie, Suzie, Billy and I would line up (we always were polite and formed a line!) and cheer one another on as we made that slow motion LEAP INTO THE AIR and had lines of water spray up our tiny noses.
There was no big trip to the DAIRYQUEEN or MACDONALD'S afterwards for 'more' indulgence...we just lay on the grass and let the drops fall from the sky, knowing our Moms would be churning out meatloaf at 5 pm. All the dots connected...the sprinkler..the friends...family time...and SATISFACTION. The city didn't have to build me a monstrous park or sabotage my relationship with my parents. I didn't have to be polite at a water park. Kids who got THERE FIRST, GOT THE TOY, OR THE SLIDE, OR THE WATER CANNON GUN. Sharing isn't really an option!
I wish Norman Rockwell had been the President of the United States because he would have banned giant water parks, cell phones, cheap toys, strip malls and more. We would have real family values, real memories made from scratch and real friends to share them with.
Mind you...I did need this computer to share my thoughts! What would Norman think?
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