Musings...

Passion project: Me. What was my passion as a child? That's easy, playing outside.

I used to get my chores done quick and then go help my friends get their chores done, so we could go play. We roamed all over Murray Park. It had/has multiple play grounds and covers a huge area, but the best part of the park doesn't exist anymore. The jungle. The jungle was a section of undeveloped land in middle of Murray Park, on the hill between the horse track and the outdoor pool behind the pavilion. It was over grown with trees, ground plants, bushes and lots of critters, bugs, frogs, lizards, spiders. It was dark in there, and damp and muddy because there was a spring there with a little creek that ran through it down to Cottonwood creek that flows through Murray to the Jordan river. It was so exciting, scary and cool to go in the jungle. And it smelled so good, rich and earthy, like nice clean compost. It seemed dangerous to us, we were SO brave to go into the jungle. Now that area is an outdoor amphitheater. I've seen many plays there, but it doesn't compare to the joy and excitement we got from the jungle. We owned Murray Park, anyone else who came there were merely visitors and guests.

We also played in the Jr. High playing field. It extends from 5300 S to 5600 S, three full city blocks of grass. That's three times 660 feet, or six and half football fields laid end to end. Today part of that field is a Murray public library. (I actually sort of wish the library had been built before I grew up.) We played tag, run sheepy run, baseball and we made up games. Or we just walked and talked. There were about 10 of us that had that huge field all to ourselves most of the summer and on weekends.

Last but not least, we played in the field behind our houses. We weren't supposed to because it was private property, but that made it even more fun. We tried to sneak around and be quiet, but you know how kids are, especially girls. It had chest high, never mowed, grass and weeds growing in it, perfect for playing hide and go seek. It was so fun to make trails, build huts, invent games and run around in that long grass. It seems like kids don't have vacant lots or wild places to play in anymore. Playgrounds are sterile and safe, no chance of falling out of a tree and breaking an arm anymore or of even finding a bug. That's kind of sad. Not that I think breaking an arm is great, but it used to be part of childhood, a rite of passage sort of, and it served as a time when you had to slow down and learn to love reading. I'm only 40 years old, this wasn't that long ago. I'm not talking about something that was hundreds of years, little house on the prairie, ago. Geez, how things change in 30 short years. Anyone older than me can probably tell even better stories about playing as a kid, but I'm not sure anyone much younger could. My siblings couldn't play the same way I did.

Oh, I just had another amazing memory. My all time favorite summertime activity was reading on the floating bed. We had two giant paradise trees. They grew a perfect distance apart to swing an old steel queen size box springs between them long wise, so one tree was at the head and one tree was at the foot. My dad had two long chains, one for each tree, that he threw over a big branch on each tree, then he somehow attached the ends of the chains to each corner of the frame of the box springs. Then we put a foam pad and blanket over it for comfort. Oh my God! That floating bed was SO fun. We could swing the whole family on it at once. You pulled it up to your chest and then pushed and ran after it and jumped on it as it swung out over a lower part of the yard. You couldn't see the ground. It was like it was flying away. It was stiff and flat, so you had to cling to it as it kept swinging high back and forth. That was the coolest damn thing ever. I used to take a pillow out there and read books on the floating bed, with the sunlight filtering down through the green leaves. It was always cool and shady no matter how hot it got in the summertime. I read all the Wizard of Oz books on that bed, the Great Brain books, and every single Trixie Belden book ever written and the Encyclopedia Brown books. I can't count how many books I read out there. I was one lucky kid. Memories like that make me wonder what the hell my problem is, why am I such a whiny adult? How did I become such a sad sack couch potato who never leaves the house except to drive somewhere?

I want to recapture that joy and passion of my childhood. I want to recapture that happiness and peace. Is that possible? THAT'S MY PASSION PROJECT!

P.S. I've made two batches of sesame milk and now I'm addicted. Yummy! Victoria Buetenko said if you're having trouble with craving sweets it means your body is asking for calcium. And sesame milk is a great way to get calcium. And since I dreamt about it, I figured I better follow through.