#please go touch some grass while you're at the mall

[the-phantom-author]

I’m about to go to this mall (I live near the fnaf mall😋) and stare at the fountain in awe bc Josh hutcherson was in it

Toad,,,

[sordideuphemism]

Touching Grass

As some of you may know, I'm a father to five awesome kids, and am at the age where the youngest is now saving to see if they can afford a place (with friends) of their own. As my minions have gotten older and the neighborhood has 'developed', the things I used to do to de-stress, or get away, or just exist aren't available.

In the last 30 years or so? Touching Grass - Going Outside - Taking a Walk - these appeals to disconnecting from the internet - have become difficult if not impossible.

When I was a pre-teen, I could go outside. I could go for a walk, venture into some woods, explore a stream, throw rocks at a pond, stand at the edge of a 5' drainage pipe and try to convince myself to explore. 80's-era child abandonment aside, these were things I could do. There was a park within walking distance. More than one. Hanging out in front of the school was OK, and there were tables and benches to do so. Walking or riding to the nearby shopping area didn't mean you were necessarily shopping - you had opportunities to gather without spending money. The mall had entire areas (in addition to the food court) where you could sit down in a small gathering of chairs or benches and just rest. And the library - oh, how many weekends I spent in there just existing without owing an explanation to anyone.

Many of these opportunities are gone now. I step outside my door and while the (goddamn) HOA makes sure the place looks nice, kids can't gather anywhere. There are no benches. Sidewalks, when they exist at all, are so far into people's yards that the cars in their driveways are parked over them. Side yards? Cul-de-sacs? Try to put together a pick-up game and you're just as likely to have NextDoor groupies call the cops on you.

Away from the suburbs, it's just as bad. Sure, many larger cities have great public transportation but there aren't many places to go that don't cost money. The library, some museums, a handful of parks. Rare are the places where you can throw together a game of touch football or even hide-and-go-seek.

Many places have become actively hostile to people doing things outside unless those things are financially beneficial to the property owner / facility / nearby store / etc.

And high school? No gathering in hallways. No talking in class. 30 minutes for lunch, and 20 of that is getting to the cafeteria, standing in line, and finding a seat. And the people who speak up or out are targeted.

Please keep this in mind when you wonder how folks can be so unused to face-to-face social interactions. How they seem to go hog-wild at a college or university, suddenly presented with green spaces and freedom during the day. This weird compartmentalizing trend has been going on a long, long time and without concerted effort will continue to more finely and finely define what 'free time' and 'freedom' are to your average kid.

Me? I've picked up a few benches from the local for-sale lists. I've got a tree out front they'd look great beneath. And I think I'll be putting in a basketball goal on the curb sometime this year.

Are my kids moving out? Yes.

Do I still live here? Also, yes.