Hang on tight; This will be fun!

One of my most vivid memories from kindergarten involves a merry-go-round. Not a lawyer-approved plastic, slow, and boring merry go round, but one of the old school pre-safety types of merry go rounds.

The pride of Siebert School in Midland, Michigan, this beauty had a splintered wooden bench running along the outer edge, a metal bar for desperate grasping, and a well-greased central hub.

Big kids with no concern for mortality could get next to that hub in the center, and push the spokes while running, ensuring the kids on the outer benches got a very fast ride.

One day a third-grade boy rounded up some of us tender five-year-olds to sit on the bench, told us to “hang on tight, this will be fun!” and started running.

Before long, we were flying literally, as the centrifugal force actually propelled our little legs straight out like miniature flags in a hurricane. We screamed in the purest combination of joy and terror, hanging on for dear life to that slippery metal bar. It was the most exhilarating experience of my short life.

But I quickly realized this could be dangerous, and it might be wise to bail. So I launched myself into the gravel and landed with only a couple dozen embedded pieces of gravel in my knees. No injuries. But as soon as I let go, I regretted it.

One of the teachers came and admonished the third grader, and I never got a fun ride like that again.

Not for lack of trying, but even by first grade, gravity and a few extra pounds ruined my chances of achieving a full-blown centrifugal lift off.

A few years later, alas, they replaced the merry go round with a safer, flat model (yawn), and today even that is gone from Siebert School, thus depriving generations of kids the thrill and excitement of spinning wildly and staggering like a tiny, happy, drunk sailor.

This isn’t the only bastion of childhood that has been sacrificed.

The forty foot metal ladder, where I climbed straight up, avoiding the slats with broken screws, and slid down a scorching metal slide with two-inch-high safety sides, into the hard packed dirt where there wasn’t enough time to react before landing hard on my backside. Fun times indeed.

I catch myself reliving those glorious ten seconds on the merry go round every so often and regretting I didn’t hang on longer.

It can be seen as a metaphor for life’s thrills and risks. Sometimes we bail too soon out of fear, only to regret missing the wild ride.

Maybe that’s the real lesson from the playground. The ride never lasts forever, but there are times when it’s better to hang on a little longer: to feel the wind in your face, your heart pounding, your feet off the ground, feeling exhilarated and joyful.

There is always risk, yes, but there is just as much chance you’ll be glad you held on, that you can say you’re glad you held on, the ride was worth it.

About the author: Rev. Sharon Smith is the pastor at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, writer, and merry-go-round survivor whose ears perk up when she hears, “Hang on tight-this’ll be fun.”

Contact Sharon at tct@pageone-inc.com