Sitting on the beach at the Birch Bay State Park a couple of days ago, I watched as a kid and his brother played for over an hour around an ancient tree trunk that beached after some long ago storm. The boys’ father was close by, no caution to be careful. He just let them have fun climbing all over the old tree. They were so involved in their adventure it seemed obvious to me that they needed no electronic gadget to occupy their imagination. Did they imagine themselves as castaways on a deserted island? Did they imagine themselves as pirates looking to the horizon for an unsuspecting four-mast schooner to overcome and carry off the gold dubloons, jewels and silver pieces of eight? Do kids today still imagine such daring escapades, or are most totally mesmerized by My Virtual Life and other video games too many to mention? I guess I think back on my own childhood fantasies, out-of-doors, wandering through grassy pastures with the sun heating my back, listening to crickets and bees. I still smile with childish glee at the sight of butterflies and dragonflies. I don’t want to make too much of this thread of thought. But, I silently cheered on these scrawny li’l fellows and their simple play.
