Go Play.

“Every child’s daily desire is basically the same: what kids want from their day is the maximum number of opportunities to exercise their imaginations and bodies via the myriad of activities known as “play.” In America’s vast, cloned suburbs the toys of choice in my day were things like G.I. Joes, Kermit the Frogs and Barbies. In the war zones of the same era the toys of choice were spent cartridges, military insignia and broken guns. The play urge in children is so strong that they will indulge it no matter what imaginary fodder, what playgrounds or what toy materials fate may offer them.”

(from “The Garbage Man’s Daughter,” a short story in the collection River Teeth: Stories and Writings by David James Duncan, page 68)

Why is it adults don’t seek to maximize their playtime? It seems like adults have lost the desire to play, or perhaps, adults have found a new twisted version of play that doesn’t exercise anything but the TV or is at best self-defeating.

I say it’s time to play. Shut the TV off and go play. Build a castle. Paint a picture. Read a book. Throw a Frisbee. Plant a tree. Kids are smart. They do whatever they can to runaway and go play. Sometimes the bills do need to be done and there are things that require our attention. But that excuse can’t work all the time. Go play.

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