Some Things About Swings

USA Today claims that swing sets are disappearing from American playgrounds---this can't really be true, can it? The swing set can't really be disappearing, can it? The swings always were (and still are) my favorite piece of playground equipment. Some of my favorite things about swings (in no particular order):

1. The feeling of flight.
2. Pushing the swing to its edge, how hi could you go.
3. Spending my recess during 6th grade pushing Becky B. on the swings. Sure it was a one-sided relationship but that didn't matter to me.
4. Swinging in the park late at night when the whole town is sleeping.
5. Swinging in the dark with your eyes closed.
6. Feeling the jerk of the swing set when you swing just a little too high.
7. The power of being in charge of your swings speed and destiny.
8. Pretending to be Superman while lying belly down on the swing.
9. Testing your limits by jumping off a moving swing (the higher the better).
10. Laughing at the other kids who are too afraid to jump from their swings.
11. Giving younger cousins and nieces and nephews their first push on a swing.
12. Sitting on the swings while being drunk with college friends, discussing the meaning of life at 3 in the morning (and being told by the cops to move along).
13. Did I mention pushing Becky B??

USATODAY.com - The great American swing set is teetering

Religion and Politics

An interesting article from Washington Monthly about evangelicals becoming frustrated with the Republican Party. The whole time I was reading the article I kept wondering who is playing who? At their most ideal, both politics and religion should be about making the world a little better....but it seems like the bigger concern is winning for the sake of winning.

"When Would Jesus Bolt?" by Amy Sullivan