i can clearly recall the first time i fell and had the wind knocked out of me. it feels like just yesterday that my brother’s friends were throwing frogs off of bridges in mass murder style, and i’ll never forget our epic bicycle battles with the mormon kids across the street. (my brother seriously ripped the braces off of another kid’s teeth… seriously).

one thing i had forgotten about was the rocket ship structure, technically referred to as a ‘rocket climber’ at our neighborhood playground. at the time, it seemed to be 100 feet tall.  i recently came across a blog by lauren orchowski, who has been documenting these rotting structures in towns across the country. apparently, space playgrounds  were popular in the 1960s and 70s, so my wisconsin rocket wasn’t the only one.

the pictures make me want to book a ticket right now and see the (small) reality of my old neighborhood playground. click on the picture to go to ms. orchowski’s blog.

In the 1990s, this guy Bill decided to pretend that he was a child and write letters to various people posing ‘heavy’ questions. He received crazy responses and both the letters and responses are being published in book format. This website gives a sneak preview of some of the letters inside… (click on the letter)