Sledding and Other Hazards

Across the Fence #531

One by one, the games and activities of our younger days are being banned and outlawed by the playground police, city councils, school administrations, and every Tom, Dick, and Harry who’s afraid of being sued if Little Tommy stubs his toe while walking across the playground. We’ve become a sue-happy society and everyone is walking scared. No one dares to run scared anymore.

The latest winter activity to join the hit list is sledding. If any of you have paid attention to the news lately, you probably heard that the City of Dubuque City Council voted to ban sledding on all but two parks in the city. First time offenders will be given a warning. A repeat offender will face a $750 fine. That’s a major uff da. I think we let a lot of drunk drivers off easier than that, and drunk driving is a lot more deadly offense in my book. 

People who were injured while sledding or skiing on city-owned property have brought lawsuits against cities across the country. When you get lawsuits involved, people get nervous. The next thing you know, there’s a new law or ordinance on the books banning the activity. 

How many of you have jumped on a sled of some sort and sailed down a snow-covered hill? It was fun, wasn’t it? How many of you have crashed and burned, run into a tree or rocks, banged up your tailbone when you landed after sailing over a jump, or heaven forbid, run into a barbed wire fence or almost got hit by a car? 

Yes, people get hurt sledding. The majority of the time it’s because they are fooling around, showing off, or doing something careless. I’ve been banged up a few times too. I broke my tailbone while sledding with the kids when they were in grade school. There was a great sledding hill near us at Cherokee School when we lived in Madison. One evening we went sledding with friends and their kids. We had one of those flexible, plastic sleds that looked more like a toboggan. We decided to go to the highest and steepest point of the hill so we could go over a small jump. Bad decision. Erik and Amy sat in front of me on the sled. Down the hill we went, faster than I had anticipated. We hit the jump and went airborne. So far so good. We were all yelling and having a great time. Then we landed. Since I was heavier, the back end hit the snow with a thud, right on my tailbone. We went out of control and were all thrown off. I rolled in the snow, yelling in pain this time. That ended our “fun” for the evening. I still have pain in my tailbone at times because of that moment of indiscretion. I was just glad it was me instead of the kids who got hurt. Did I ever think about suing the City of Madison because it was on school property? Of course not. I was careless going over a jump with that type of sled. People need to take responsibility for their own actions. We should have had one of those inflatable rubber tires you can sit in and go sliding down the hill. Speaking of other types of sleds, have you ever gone down a hill on a shovel, on a garbage can lid, or in a canoe? There are all kinds of ways to have fun sledding without expensive sleds, although I wouldn’t recommend the canoe. I have that from a reliable source.

Do I think sledding should be banned because you could possibly get hurt? Of course not. I could get hurt walking down the sidewalk if I hit a patch of slick snow or ice. I don’t bounce as good as I used to. 

Ready to do some serious skiing. 

L-R: Cousin Wayne Hanson, my brother, David, and me.

I can think of many activities and games that we played that wouldn’t be allowed on a playground today. We had a swing set at Smith School. We would swing as high as we could and then jump out as it swung forward and see who could jump the farthest. Was it dangerous? You bet, but that was part of the fun of doing it.

We played Flip Stick, also known as Vippe Pinne in Norwegian. I’ve written about that game before. It involved a flying stick and was dangerous. I doubt it would be allowed on any playground today. 

We went sledding and ski-jumped at Birch Hill during our noon recess. It was about a quarter mile walk from school. Was it dangerous? Yes, and sometimes we got banged up, but it was all part of the adventure. A scrape or bump from bouncing off a tree or rock was worn as a badge of courage. Some people would probably call it a badge of reckless stupidity. I’ll admit it was probably a bit reckless, but I wouldn’t call it stupid. No one was forcing us to do any of these activities. We did them because we loved doing them. We loved playing outside, doing physical activities, in all kinds of weather, regardless of the temperature. I’m glad no one was banning our games and activities.

I know people need to be careful, but lets not become a nation of wimps, sitting inside all day watching TV, playing computer games, and living in a sterile, fantasy world.

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