Playborhood Berkeley - The Day Mr Grump Decided To Ruin My Personal Playborhood

Claremont

The Day Mr Grump Decided To Ruin My Personal Playborhood

Posted: 04/24/08 04:05 PM

I had sincerely hoped that when this site publishes its first league table of Top 100 American Playborhoods, my little corner of the world would feature high up in the rankings. But I fear my neighborhood may no longer qualify.

I live on a wide, tree-lined street in Berkeley in which every other household seems to have produced a neat matching pair of children, more often than not of the male variety. Many of these kids disgorge into the street at weekends and after school to shoot some hoops, throw a football around or generally goof about.

A clutch of them has recently – if a little belatedly – discovered skateboarding. The more proficient among them take advantage of the slight gradient of the street to swish by at great speed. Others hang around discussing brands of boards and trucks or work on perfecting their kick-flips and ollies.

One boy has procured a rail and the other day a group of five kids were all taking turns trying to stay upright while grinding along it. The rail was positioned on the street a couple of yards away from the curb. Given the width of the street and paucity of passing traffic it was far from causing an obstruction.

A man in a BMW drove up. Rather than driving by, he pulled car right up behind the rail and got out of the car. He then demanded to know who the rail belonged to and complained to the boy in question. He said he had asked him before not to play with it in the street. He picked up the rail and proceeded to try to put it into the trunk of his car. It being a diminutive European vehicle, it would not fit. The rail’s owner reminded the man politely that it wasn’t his to take – that he was in fact stealing – at which point the man raised the rail above his head as though he were about to throw it at something (or someone).
Fortunately the boy’s mother appeared at this point and appeased the situation.

What are we to make of an adult who can’t stand to see children playing in the street? I hasten to say that I would be the first to complain if kids literally took over the street and were a danger to both themselves and drivers. But I am assured by my son and the adults who witnessed this scene that this was not the case.

I am hoping that this one encounter with a crabby joy-kill will prove to be the exception to the rule. For I’d like to think that there are a few places left where children are free to roam—and grind. And I do so want to make it into that league table!

Claremont

The Day Mr Grump Decided To Ruin My Personal Playborhood

Leave a Comment

{cat_name}

{cat_name}

{cat_name}

{cat_name}

{cat_name}