Games People Play On Summer Evenings
I was trying to tell someone this weekend about the summers I spent as a kid in a really rural place with a gang of cohorts my age, no TV, bikes, rowboats, catamarans, pogo sticks, Monopoly, playing cards, dogs, flip flops and a lot of penny candy from the general store in town. It's hard to explain -- seems to be a childhood completely lost these days -- one that can never exist again. We had enormous freedom. We were outside all day and a good part of the night. We were relaxed and funny and silly and creative and very lucky to be so.
One thing we spent a lot of time doing was playing "Sardines" -- a game you play in a completely dark house -- no lights on. One person hides in the house, you give them 15 minutes while the rest of you wait in one room or outside. Then if they are ready, you call out "Ready?" and they DON'T answer. No answer means, time to start.
You wander around in the pitch dark, although it's also fun to play on a moonlit evening, in search of the person who is hiding. If you find him/her you go ahead and silently hide with them. If you have not found them, the only word you are allowed to say is "Sardines?" which must be answered by other players still looking for the hidden person. If you start with 20 people, the reply to your question "Sardines?" is quickly offered, "Sardines." "Sardines" "Sardines" you hear from all quarters, which means, yes, I'm still here.
After a bit, you notice the replies begin to thin -- and then you know a bunch of other folks have found the person and are hiding somewhere in the house with them, ready to jump out at the last unfortunate sucker. You know you're the last guy when your "Sardines?!" remains unanswered and then you think to yourself, "Oh, shit" knowing that any dark corner you turn into might have 19 people hiding ready to jump out at you and scare the hell out of you.
Needless to say it's a great game for teenagers as they are "forced" to pile into a small space together, body against body and try NOT to make noises or giggle, which is next to impossible.
I was so struck by Halley's views. What has happened to "play"? Everything is so structured today and parents seem obsessed by risk.
In the great English children's book Swallows and Amazons, the children have their own sail boats and have adventures on the Lakes in the Lake District without an adult in sight. My sister Diana and I ran wild for 3 years in Ghana. We killed snakes and rabid dogs, climbed trees and had a Ju Ju gang. In England we played in the next door bomb site and did not come home until the end of the day.
TV is the usual culprit but what about our need to "program" our kids to take up activities? We seem to have a need to Supervise. What are the real risks that we wish to shield them from? Is the world really full of pedophiles just waiting to kidnap our children. Why do we not allow our children the same freedom that we had?
9:41:46 AM 
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