A Nice Little Story

[MissBarbara]

Once upon a time there was a big, beautiful park. It was very large, and there were dozens and dozens of different things for the children to do there. The park only had two rules: Everyone should have fun, and no one should do anything that might physically harm one of the other children.

Many children would come to play there. Some had been playing there since the park first opened, others showed up a bit later on. Some would come there to play almost every day, others would only come to play once in a while. Sometimes children would play there for a while, and then no longer come to play there anymore. They were too busy with other things, of they moved to a different neighborhood, or they incorrectly believed that nobody liked them there, and they were forced to depart for good.

Then, one day, a new group of children came to play at the park. They didn't know each other before they arrived there, but they quickly discovered they had many things in common, and they liked playing the same games. The group began to grow in size, and even some of the children who had been playing in the park for a long time began to join them in their games.

And then something very strange began to happen. The children who had been playing there before the new children arrived began to grow resentful of the new children, perhaps even jealous of them. They began to say things like this park was much more fun before "they" arrived, and this is "our" park and not "theirs," and "they" have no right to take over our "park."

The funny thing was, the new children hadn't really done anything to encroach on the enjoyment of the park for the children who had been there longer. It was still the same park, and it still offered the same wide variety of activities. The children who'd been there longer didn't really want to join the new children in their games, and many of them thought the new children's' games were boring, and very silly.

Then, one day the old children realized something very important. The park was still exactly the same place it was before the new children arrived. And they could continue to enjoy the park as they previously had, irrespective of the new children's presence.

And they all played together happily ever after.

THE END

[Janus]

Wonderful Story Barbara. Seems the park administrator has some of his own games he likes to play also. The Children don't quite understand the way he can do certain things to the playground equipment and how he can remove rungs from the monkey bars or lengthen the chains on the swing without letting the kids know but they enjoy the park so much that they aren't going to let it get them down to much.

They understand that he is a tired drunken old man and is miserable in his own skin. They also realize that the only enjoyment he gets is when he puts sharp objects under the mulch and when a child falls and scrapes their knee, he get's a big chuckle out of it. The children think that it is wrong, but realize it is his park and if they really don't like it they can go elsewhere to play. It's just that they like  most every other child at the park and would miss playing with their friends.

Janus

[joan1984]

A wonderful fairy tale. I agree all children should enjoy playing "Skeet", and whatever other sport they wish, leave it to the youths to decide.

Yeppers.

[Athos131]

Once upon a time there was a big, beautiful park. It was very large, and there were dozens and dozens of different things for the children to do there. The park only had two rules: Everyone should have fun, and no one should do anything that might physically harm one of the other children.

Many children would come to play there. Some had been playing there since the park first opened, others showed up a bit later on. Some would come there to play almost every day, others would only come to play once in a while. Sometimes children would play there for a while, and then no longer come to play there anymore. They were too busy with other things, of they moved to a different neighborhood, or they incorrectly believed that nobody liked them there, and they were forced to depart for good.

Then, one day, a new group of children came to play at the park. They didn't know each other before they arrived there, but they quickly discovered they had many things in common, and they liked playing the same games. The group began to grow in size, and even some of the children who had been playing in the park for a long time began to join them in their games.

And then something very strange began to happen. The children who had been playing there before the new children arrived began to grow resentful of the new children, perhaps even jealous of them. They began to say things like this park was much more fun before "they" arrived, and this is "our" park and not "theirs," and "they" have no right to take over our "park."

The funny thing was, the new children hadn't really done anything to encroach on the enjoyment of the park for the children who had been there longer. It was still the same park, and it still offered the same wide variety of activities. The children who'd been there longer didn't really want to join the new children in their games, and many of them thought the new children's' games were boring, and very silly.

Then, one day the old children realized something very important. The park was still exactly the same place it was before the new children arrived. And they could continue to enjoy the park as they previously had, irrespective of the new children's presence.

And they all played together happily ever after.

THE END

[Athos131]

Wonderful Story Barbara. Seems the park administrator has some of his own games he likes to play also. The Children don't quite understand the way he can do certain things to the playground equipment and how he can remove rungs from the monkey bars or lengthen the chains on the swing without letting the kids know but they enjoy the park so much that they aren't going to let it get them down to much.

They understand that he is a tired drunken old man and is miserable in his own skin. They also realize that the only enjoyment he gets is when he puts sharp objects under the mulch and when a child falls and scrapes their knee, he get's a big chuckle out of it. The children think that it is wrong, but realize it is his park and if they really don't like it they can go elsewhere to play. It's just that they like  most every other child at the park and would miss playing with their friends.

Janus

Considering the park you are referring to isn't public, you don't have a right to complain about how it's being run.

[Grm]

Oh Janus. you do make me laugh. ha ha ha ha.

[Janus]

Wonderful Story Barbara. Seems the park administrator has some of his own games he likes to play also. The Children don't quite understand the way he can do certain things to the playground equipment and how he can remove rungs from the monkey bars or lengthen the chains on the swing without letting the kids know but they enjoy the park so much that they aren't going to let it get them down to much.

They understand that he is a tired drunken old man and is miserable in his own skin. They also realize that the only enjoyment he gets is when he puts sharp objects under the mulch and when a child falls and scrapes their knee, he get's a big chuckle out of it. The children think that it is wrong, but realize it is his park and if they really don't like it they can go elsewhere to play. It's just that they like  most every other child at the park and would miss playing with their friends.

Janus

Considering the park you are referring to isn't public, you don't have a right to complain about how it's being run.

Stating facts aren't complaints and I believe I did acknowledge that it wasn't a public park.

[MissBarbara]

Wonderful Story Barbara. Seems the park administrator has some of his own games he likes to play also. The Children don't quite understand the way he can do certain things to the playground equipment and how he can remove rungs from the monkey bars or lengthen the chains on the swing without letting the kids know but they enjoy the park so much that they aren't going to let it get them down to much.

They understand that he is a tired drunken old man and is miserable in his own skin. They also realize that the only enjoyment he gets is when he puts sharp objects under the mulch and when a child falls and scrapes their knee, he get's a big chuckle out of it. The children think that it is wrong, but realize it is his park and if they really don't like it they can go elsewhere to play. It's just that they like most every other child at the park and would miss playing with their friends.

Janus

Janus, thank you so much for pointing that out! In my haste to copy and paste that story, I now realize that I left one paragraph out:

There was one particular child who liked to play at the park. To protect his identity, let's call him "Yanus." Yanus was one of the group of "old" children who liked to join the new children in their games, too. Sadly, though Yanus had been playing there for a long time, he never realized what the playground was truly all about. Yanus was obsessed with the man who ran the playground, even though that man almost always left the children to their own games. Yanus seemed to think it was his playground, that he was in charge, and that he should be the one who makes the rules, decides who gets to play there, and determines which games they should play. Though Yanus believed that every other child in the playground thought the same way he did, he never realized how alone he was in his obsessiveness, nor how divisive and, at times, very hurtful his nasty comments truly were. 

[MissBarbara]

Nice post from MissB, though I can't say I know what new controversy it's referring to.

Me neither.

[coacheric]

Considering the park you are referring to isn't public, you don't have a right to complain about how it's being run.

Funny, I don't see it that way either. He can complain all he wants. The only thing is, at the end of the day, it is a private park and the way it's ran won't change. He can still bitch...

[DemonDelight]

When one goes to a public park, it's usually expected that everyone plays by the same rules. One expects a certain level of... stability. Now, if it were a private, by invitation only, kind of park then by all means, the owner can makeup any rules he/she wants and change them whenever they feel like it.

It gets frustrating when kids see a little inner circle and the rest are left to fend for themselves.

[coacheric]

Public or private, SOMEONE ALWAYS MAKES THE RULES.

Anyone feels different, prove me wrong.

[TinyDancer]

Something to keep in mind is that the owner can always close the park down.  Perhaps he keeps it open so that all the kiddies have somewhere safe to play.

Just saying is all.

[Partner]

Geez, I'm clueless.  I had no idea such politics were going on.      

Well, as an aside, I'd be more than happy to play with the big kids.  Sometimes it's just easier to start up conversations with other people who are also in the 'hey I'm new here' phase.  Maybe I'll have to make more of an effort to stick my ... nose ... where it doesn't belong. 

(To be fair, I've never once felt looked down on by anybody here.  Still, I hope nobody ever thought I was being aloof towards them.)

[DemonDelight]

Public or private, SOMEONE ALWAYS MAKES THE RULES.

Anyone feels different, prove me wrong.

I never said that wasn't the case. Just making my own observations and voicing my own opinions is all