Do you remember doing it? I do, although there were several different types of equipment in the school playground allowing myself and other children altered angles to our world. Yea, I remember the swing-sets, the seesaws, the merry go rounds, as well as the monkey bars. The monkey bar was my favorite by far. If you think about it, a set of monkey bars could completely change how you see the world.
On the swing-set, you could power yourself back n forth going as high as you want while imagining you were flying. Many times I would just swing and sing songs. There isn't really a lot of effort involved as long as your feet touch the ground. Of course there were the small swings and the larger ones for the bigger kids. With my long limbs, it wasn't hard to decide which one I glided back and forth on while singing "Raindrops keep falling on my head..." There were a few times I fell out of the swing but it was usually when I was attempting some type of trick like leaning way back and lifting my legs around the chains. The best part of that was most times there were enough dirt under you when you came flipping out to keep from having too many scrapes. The sky always seemed so big above and the landings normally smooth with a leap out of the seat.
The seesaws were a little more tricky because it required a partner. It wasn't like you could go to the park by yourself and seesaw endlessly. It took the power of another sitting on the other end and powering with kicks to push yourself up in the air while waiting for your friend to do the same. I loved it when we attempted balancing even if our weights were different. The only accidents involved would be when a mischievous friend would jump off the end to send you crashing down on your booty. Seesaws were fun but your imagination was limited dependent on the other person.
Then there were the merry go rounds. Most of the time, I was the pusher and even today there is a reason for me to stay off the spinning Caterpillar ride at the annual fair. Every now and then it was camaraderie to join my friends on the wooden ride but I hated it if the pusher was strong enough to spin it so fast that vertigo set in. Yet with a good strong pusher, the ride filled to capacity if enough were around. If I went to the playground alone, the ride was okay because you could spin it and jump on and never really have to worry about it getting out of control. The only pain I remember from it was the occasional hit of the bars if you got too close or weren't paying attention. The old wooden one in the school play ground now seems like a torture wheel and I would be hard pressed to put my grandchild on it.
Then there are the monkey bars which come in different shapes. There are the kinds that many athletes use today in competitions such a Ninja Warrior shows or Spartan Races. They look like three ladders connected. Two vertical and one horizontal on top. There are the complex kind with many bars connected to form rectangles and square configurations to climb all over, in, and out. Then there are the octagon or dome shaped ones. That was my favorite because you could imagine yourself a house, cocoon, or a fort. Or it could quickly become a mountain to trek over and see the whole expansive play ground. And every now and then you could practice your hanging upside down skills. The best part of that was it didn't have to start from the top bars. The feat could be attempted from the lower bars giving the feeling of safety and confidence to proceed higher. All it took was to loop your legs in and over the bars and slowly allow yourself to look down. And if you fall, it was normally a sandy ground stirred up by the others that did it as well. You could do it alone or along side a friend. It didn't require any coordination other than just holding on with your legs. Smiles ensue and giggles begin. Blood rushing to your head as you recognize the earth below and the rest of your body pretends to be walking on clouds. Moments of clarity and still being quite aware that you can't do it forever but that you have done it for now. The world upside down.
Some may only enjoy the feeling of swinging back and forth, leaning back, eyes open, watching only the sky above. Looking ahead and far into the atmosphere above allowing day dreams and aspirations of where to go or who to be. Many may want to have the balance of seesawing and the dependence of another to not fall or fail. The weight will determine the impact of the fall. And there are those who can enjoy the spin, dizzily enjoying the feeling of a world spinning round and round with an occasional stop before the next strong push.
Looking at the world upside down was the moments on the playground that I remember the most. It was the moments that not everyone tried to capture. For me, swinging fueled my dreams, seesawing developed the importance of connecting and keeping a balance, and the merry go rounds invoked the sense of power of one for many. But the monkey bars allowed me for a few moments to not see things as they really are. To take a moment for a different perspective. Just hanging there for a moment. Nothing important to think about but only a giggle, a smile at the upside down world. A world made right by just grabbing the bars and pulling yourself back up.
