Watch Out For Those Seesaws!!

I had never seen this sign before!

A few months ago my Mom, Grandma, and I drove around Mesquite Nevada to see if there was anything worth doing, besides casino stuff.  It's where we stay when my Grandparents and Mom visit my Uncle who lives in Southern California, as it's the halfway spot.  My Uncle, Aunt, and Grandfather gamble, while my Mom, Grandmother and I twiddle our thumbs.

Usually we just stay in the hotel room or walk around Wal-mart.  Sometimes we see a movie or drive to St. George.  Mostly we don't do anything beyond this.  After many, many visits to Mesquite we finally drove around to see what this town is all about.  We didn't even make it a half hour before getting bored.  hardly any shops and eateries.  Mostly communities and golfing developed for retirees.  A few casinos here and there. A movie theater.

But after going down one street I spotted this sign: A yellow diamond with a silhouette of kids playing on a seesaw.

A seesaw.

I looked around and there were no seesaws.  There wasn't even a playground, so it was just odd.

It's been ages since I've seen a seesaw at a playground, only seeing them as jokes used on old cartoons.  Do modern playgrounds even have seesaws?  As a kid I remember playing on one with no success.  Seesaws are tricky.  But remembering the playgrounds of my youth I suddenly got quite nostalgic.  Playgrounds are not what they once were.  Now play equipment is plastic, blue and yellow, designed for optimal safety with no room for imagination and wonder.

I'm glad that I got to play on "dangerous" playgrounds in my youth, drink water from a hose, play outside, and spent nights looking up at the stars, back when you could vibrantly see them.

We need to bring back seesaws, playing in dirt, monkey bars, and old fashion play.