Talk of the Town

As I write this a few days before my birthday, I’m thinking back to those days of having a birthday as a kid and what kind of toy I might get or what I would get to do. What will I get this year? Who knows. My wife asked me what I wanted to do, and I said sleep. But it falls on a Monday and I have to work, so there’s that. I could have taken the day off, and slept in, you know, till 6:00. Then what? I should have planned ahead.

Anyway, back to kid birthdays. Toys, cool cakes, friends, sleepovers, water parks, and sometimes McDonald’s. And not the indoor playsets, it was a special yellow-chained off area of tables, paper hats, and orange drink. Small burger, small fries and possibly a cake? If you wanted the old school playground, I remember one somewhere off of I-270 where my grandparents would take us from time to time. What kid didn’t enjoy climbing inside the metal likeness of Grimace or maybe Mayor McCheese! And since it’s August, it’s likely 1,000 degrees too so prepare for skin burns too.

Toys? Star Wars figures and accessories…most always. G.I. Joe, yes! And did anyone else get the action figures from Playmobil? I remember the knights, soldiers, and possibly pirates. Later on it was probably video games, and then as I got older…clothes. Ugh. Unless it was a Star Wars or Cardinals shirt then I guess it was okay. Or better yet, underoos!

My brother and I both have August birthdays so we would sometimes combine outings and head to the water slide in West Alton. Remember that one? Between Hoods and the Missouri River Bridge. You can kind of make out the hill where it used to be, grown over with trees.

The Wood River Water Slide and Pool (sorry Aquatic Center) was on the top of our summer list because if you got yourself going on your shoulder blades and heels you could really get going! I flipped over a few times doing that and really thought I was going to fly off the side. Over at the pool, I was kind of a chicken and only remember going off the high dive once or twice. Is that place still open? (I kid, I kid)

The last six years on my birthday, I’ve either been running practice or watching my kids and their friends playing high school volleyball which is what I’ll be doing this year too, which is good. Keeps me feeling youthful and lets me try to explain to “kids these days” what good music sounds like as they get warmed up. (Coach Mark’s playlist) Occasionally, a player will say “oh, I think my dad listens to that.” That dad must like good music!

So, as time passes on, I’m not really sure what turning 52 is supposed to feel like, but all I know is that I’m finished with my article three days before my deadline. Thanks for reading!

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