So, I was in Deer Park the other day with a friend. (For those non-Capetonians, it’s a pretty standard children’s park: jungle gym, see-saw, swings, roundabout*).
There were kids – the nice, upper class Vredehoek kind who play quietly with designer ice creams that match their outfits (I – so to speak – kid you not on this one). They did their thing, we sat on the swings and talked smack. It was, all things considered, rather pleasant.
When we were about to leave, we noticed two boys – probably no more than six or seven – trying to coerce a little girl into playing on the see-saw with them. She, with the sixth sense of an experienced social analyst, wasn’t too keen. Eventually, though, she was persuaded. We watched as they let her get on first. All seemed well. We headed for the exit, only to have an outraged howl stop us in our tracks. True enough, the two boys had gleefully leaped onto the other side of the see-saw, leaving the girl dangling, legs akimbo and “This Isn’t Fair” written all over her face.
Ah boys. Always wanting you to play with them, then, when you do, perpetually leaving you hanging.
It’s a lesson best learned in pre-school.
*Incidentally, you can tell a lot about a culture by what they call their children’s playthings. In the States, a see-saw is a ‘teeter totter’. This disturbs me quite a bit. Again, a jungle gym (what a majestic image!) in the US is the aptly-named but slightly more prosaic ‘monkey bars’ and in the UK the rather unimaginative ‘climbing frame’.
