TheBanyanTree: Friday Night Lights

[NancyIee at aol.com]

It IS sad that kids these days don't know how to play, unless it's a game  
box.  We used to play kick-the-can in the evenings along the street.   My mother 
played Red Rover.  We had swing sets and inflatable pools and  roller skates 
that you tightened with a key, and we walked to the local skating  rink in 
winters, our skates tied together by the laces, and worn around our  necks.  We 
made popcorn and played Monopoly or had a jig-saw puzzle on the  dining room 
table that we worked on for weeks.
 
I have a friend whose son only plays video games. Some of the most violent  
kind, and the kid is only seven. "It's only pretend," he says, as he shoots 
down  enemy warriors, the gore flying most realistically. Then he will get mad at 
his  older brother and say something like, "I'm going to blast you to  
smithereens."   Nice games.  He doesn't play board games, or run  in the 
neighborhood. He has no friends, unless some kid comes over and they play  a video war 
game.  That isn't often.
 
He has no friends at school.  But then, a lot of those kids in his  class 
don't interact much. They don't know how.   They do school, then  dash home to 
play a video game or watch something on television.  They know  a lot of things, 
but know nothing about getting along, having friendships.
 
Yes,  Sad.
 
NancyLee



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