Saturday, June 5, 2010

“The View from Planet Kerth: Kids’ games were never a pretty picture” plus 2 more

“The View from Planet Kerth: Kids’ games were never a pretty picture” plus 2 more

The View from Planet Kerth: Kids’ games were never a pretty picture

Posted: 04 Jun 2010 07:24 AM PDT

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Oh, the games that kids will play. It makes you want to pull your hair out. Well, what little hair you have left.

According to a recent report, one in five teenagers has used a cell phone to snap a nude or semi-nude self-portrait and e-mail or text it to another teenager. It's called "sexting," and it's a felony. Even though they are minors, and even though the racy pictures are of their own bodies, if caught they could be charged as child pornographers — a label that would scar them for the rest of their lives.

When the time comes to apply for entrance to a university, or a jobsite, or an apartment complex, their childish provocative game will come back to haunt them. Don't be surprised to see a bunch of nearly-bald 20-somethings walking around in a few years. They'll be pulling out their own hair over their stupidity.

It makes you glad that you grew up without cell-phone cameras when you were a kid, doesn't it?

Still, when I was a kid, I was so worried that somebody might catch a glimpse of my underwear when I bent over to pick up a baseball bat, I can't imagine that I would have done anything like sexting. Naked self-portraits? No way!

Oh, I would have been glad to receive one from Mary Ann Falwell, or Bonnie Ciccone, or Marilee Beal, but they would have waited a long time if they expected to get one back from me.

Don't get me wrong. If there was something stupid for a kid to do back then, I was the guy to call. I suppose every Chicago kid gets his tongue stuck on a frozen lamppost sometime in his life. I know I did. Twice.

"An empty socket with the light bulb missing? Who wants to stick a finger in there to see if the power is on?"

Been there. Done that.

"Oh, look, an electric fence, and the cows are giving it a healthy respect. Do you think it's turned on?"

Well, what the heck. I had to pee anyway.

"Hey, I heard that if you grasp a pencil tightly in your fist, hold it upright against a table top, and slam a dictionary down on it, the pencil will go all the way through the book."

The scars on my right hand say otherwise.

So when it comes to stupid kid games, I'm no innocent babe in the woods.

But sexting? No way.

If one-fifth of all teenagers today have done it, it makes you wonder if today's kids will ever survive to become adults — until you consider what our childhood games were like.

Remember when your parents gave you a set of lawn darts and sent you out to play in the yard? Here, kid — take these projectiles and throw them into the air. They're perfectly weighted so that their sharpened tips will plunge deeply into whatever they fall upon. They're brightly colored, so you're bound to look up to watch it fly. What could possibly go wrong?

It's raining outside? Here, kid — take these hundreds of little army men and arrange them into platoons and battalions all over the living room floor. If you chew long enough on the brightly-colored lead paint, eventually you'll get down to the bare metal that each man is made of, which is also lead. Aren't you glad that you can play war in the safety of your living room?

Or if you're not into the army thing, you can play Cowboys and Indians. Here's a bow-and-arrow set, with suction cups on the tips of the arrows. Oh, the suction cup will fall off the first time you shoot it, but that's OK — the arrow still flies fast and true without it.

Or how about a spirited game of mumblety-peg? Go get your rusty pocketknife, and let's see who can throw it and stick it into the ground closest to his own foot.

Or maybe hide-and-seek in the glass-strewn alleys after dark.

Or a pea-shooter war without eye protection.

Or a treasure hunt in the new construction site on the next block.

Or a snake-hunt in the vacant lot next door.

Or if we sharpened the tips of those arrows, we could shoot rats over by the Legion Hall.

The funny thing is, I don't remember my parents pulling their hair out over the games that we kids played. They were our games, and Mom and Dad were fine with them. Nobody conducted studies to find out what percentage of goofballs got their tongues stuck on frozen lampposts. Twice.

And now that I think of the games I played as a kid, I realize why nobody would have wanted for me to send them a naked picture of myself.

Too many scars.

- - -

The author splits his time between Naples and Chicago. Not every day, though. Contact him at trkerth@yahoo.com.

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Local kids grab Summer Games qualifiying spots

Posted: 04 Jun 2010 12:15 PM PDT

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Posted By Gord Montgomery

Posted 16 hours ago

There's nothing quite like hyping a regular event by piling a special event on top of it, so the Stony Plain BMX club was only too happy to boost their sport's profile a bit by playing host to the Alberta Summer Games qualifying races last week.

The local club, which normally sees somewhere around 100 kids hit their racetrack each week, had about 15 riders attempting to win their overall moto and earn a spot in the Alberta-wide competition in July.

"You had to be between 11 and 15 for girls and 12 to 16 for the boys," club president Debra Hagel said of qualification restrictions. "We had six qualifiers out of the event, as only one per event moved on."

The sport of BMX has been a mainstay of the Summer Games for the past six years and is proving to be popular, the president noted.

To earn the right to head to the Peace Country and represent Zone 5, the age-eligible riders had to compete in three separate races, with the best total time taking the title. Since this is the way a normal race day at the club works, the kids were right at home with what was going on, Hagel noted.

A bonus

There was one bonus to the evening however, given the lack of official racetracks in the province.

"Given there aren't any tracks up north, like in Grande Prairie and Fort McMurray, they will take some of the second place kids throughout all the zones, so some of our other kids may be able to race as well as they'll fill those spots at the games," the club president explained.

"That would be a nice opportunity for some of the kids," although the official word on how the holes would be filled has yet to be released.

Hagel went on to say she feels this type of special race event, both at the local track and at the Summer Games, will heighten the awareness of the sport for both the competitors and their parents.

"This sort of event just gives us more exposure. A lot of people when they hear BMX think of (motorcycle) motocross, not pedal bikes. Or, they think of the trick BMX bikes and have never even seen the race bikes before, or the concept of racing. The Summer Games just gives us that much more exposure to people who don't know about the sport.

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"If they go see it while it's happening there (Peace River) they'll get a better understanding of what the sport is all about."

The Alberta Summer Games take place in the Peace Country in July, with over 2,500 athletes, including those that advanced from the BMX qualifier in Stony, taking part.

For those not familiar with the sport, go to the club's website at www.stonyplainbmx.com to have a look at how things are run, race evenings and how to become part of an ever-growing sport.

Winners from the qualifying meet who will move on to compete in the Alberta Summer Games were: Girls 11/12 category, Nicole Schilling; Girls 13/14 category, Sarah Peacock; Girls 15 category, Jyra Freund; Boys 12 category, Bailey Sproxton; Boys 13/14 category Kiran Kawa; Boys 15/16 category, Mitchell Warken.

Hagel noted there is still time for kids who don't belong to the club to join the sport. Simply go to their website and follow the links to find our more about the sport and how to register to take part in the fun.

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Kits 4 Kids’ screenings, giveaways and games July 24

Posted: 04 Jun 2010 10:52 AM PDT

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On July 24, Mission Columbus Central, affiliated with the Columbus Baptist Association, will sponsor these screenings, giveaways and games. It will be at the Frank D. Chester Recreation Center, next to Baker Middle School, on Benning Road.

The first "Kits," in 2000, was held at the Columbus Civic Center. It changed locations some through the years, but the basic outreach has been consistent.

The Rev. Jimmy Blanton, associational missionary for the CBA, would want to see 3,000 people come through next month. Any student in rising kindergarten through 12th grade can attend. Identification and proof of income are not required.

"They primarily come from south Columbus but we're really trying to reach out to all segments of society," Blanton said.

Collections from the 52 churches are taken year-round. Everything from money to supplies to backpacks to food. One recent year was particularly nerve-wracking, said Roni Ragan, ministry assistant.

"We had 2,800 packs, and it was getting down to the wire. We didn't have enough. We sweat bullets every year, but it always works out," Ragan said.

Organizers have found that new backpacks to young students are very important; they mean more than a means to carry books. They're a way of belonging.

"We want everyone to feel special the first day of school," Blanton said.

"If you can imagine students starting out without a backpack and everyone else has a new one," added Ragan. "We want to give them their best start."

In addition to the supplies the following groups will provide entertainment: a praise band; puppeteers and magicians; and five inflatables in which kids can play.

Supplies are still needed: Call 706-507-4672 if you want to help.

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