My colleague, Jim Boren, is going to love this one. When they first announced parks for "dogs," he got aggravated enough. "There aren't enough parks for people," he barked, "and they want to make parks for dogs?" He thinks the parks should be for everyone.
Well, now in Nuremberg, Germany, they are building a park and playground just for seniors. No one under 60 is allowed. And hey, it sounds pretty cool -- they're talking about a roller-skating track, trampoline, padded badminton court, a big oversized chess set. That's an OK start, but I would also want a beach volleyball court, Dance Dance Revolution, a bounce house, jacks, one of those rooms full of plastic balls, a see-saw, and huge, wonderful swiiiiiiiiiings, a track for riding quads, motocross track, bumper boats, tetherball, hopscotch and four-square courts, bumper cars, a train, a bungee and ferris wheel, Ms. Pac-Man, pinball, a carousel that plays the Beetles tunes. A water park for seniors would be cool -- I'd love one of those lazy river pools, where you just float around on an inner tube. Heck, yeah!
The recipe for this park is one part politics and one part health. Politically, it seems the German "grays" are collecting a lot of political power with the changing demographics. They had a baby boom after World War II, too, just like the U.S. And there is, it seems, a little generational friction going on there, so the politicians are pandering to the powerbase with playgrounds.
Now the health piece of this, according to a little article AARP magazine and Deutsche Welle, is that the park was based on a Finnish study that claimed playground frolicking helped older Finns improve their balance, dexterity and speed after only three months.
I hope one of my friends throws a Jamba Juice in my face if I ever say things like this, but here is their rationalization, according to a story in Deutche Welle. "'Retired people need a space to be themselves without someone coming along and spilling ice-cream on their trousers or breakdancing," said social worker Andrea Weber, who specializes in the lifestyle of the elderly.' " It will be a place where the senior generation can find a refuge from younger people," said Deputy Mayor Horst Förther, who is also in charge of sport activities in the city. There's a politician for ya. Personally, I love break dancers and eating ice cream cones with little kids -- well, it's usually me spilling stuff -- is big fun. (Chocolate chip rocks!)
I've made my wishes known to everyone in my family -- don't ever put me in a place with only one kind of people. I want all ages all kinds of people in my life -- babies, teenagers, college students, young professionals, homemakers, men and women from every country possible. But that's just me. I can't see myself hanging out at the senior park, but you never know.
Well, gosh. Whatever happenened to grandkids? Aren't they the justification we are supposed to use for playing hopscotch and playing Marco Polo in our '60s?
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