"Are you kidding me? Someone could lose an eye."

*Please note that as my friend Cheryl pointed out- the one building in this tiny version of a village that is shut to the children is shown above and it is the Pub.
 

I can not really put into words my glee about this play park.

I also know that trying to describe how I feel about it will offend some people.

I am not a parent.

If that statement negates all my opinions about childhood and child rearing I certainly understand if you stop reading now.

Yes, in part this park represents to me an alternative way of life.

Alternate to so, so many conversations that I have listened to about play, and children, and children playing safely.  As a non-breeder by choice I often feel that all I can really do is softly make sounds of agreement.  Sure, I interject if the person is a friend, and I am a little worried that their worry is getting too heavy for them. But I keep to a safe zone, only commenting directly about their feelings, nothing about the children directly.

But I think this is only a small part of my feelings for this park because I do agree that I do not have kids.  Also I think I would be in constant terror about the safety of my child-this is one of my reasons to not have one.

No, I think in part the park represents how my travels have led me to see that the prevalent point of view in ones immediate geography is not the only point of view.  This I find is easy to forget, I believe this is how media forms opinions- or pop songs become hits, the ceaseless barrage until familiarity becomes if not belief at least unquestioned.

I think mostly this park is punk rock.

The freedom to bloody your nose.  The trust that you a child can be around dirt and real glass.  I can see the danger but to my eyes the danger seems on the level of adventure, not the stupidity of playing in the street.

Yes, the teeter-totter in the dirt is far from the formula of x amount of inches of rubber padding chips to each x amount of the height of the play equipment, which I hear discussed at length, and often.

But I love it- so you might want to consider this before you ask me to take care of your child.