[By Merlin Lessler]<\/p>\n
I was listening to Will Shortz, the Puzzle Master on NPR, a few Sundays ago. He invites (over the phone) one of the people who successfully solved the previous week\u2019s puzzle. This week\u2019s winner was a young father. He introduced himself, said where he lived, and what NPR station he listened to. Will asked him what he did besides solving word puzzles in his spare time. The contestant hesitated for a few heartbeats and then said, \u201cI have a seven-year-old daughter who plays soccer and a nine-year-old son who\u2019s an indoor rock climber. That keeps me pretty busy.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m sure it does. That\u2019s the normal way with kids these days. Parents attending and traveling all over the place to \u201corganized\u201d sport activities, taking turns bringing healthy snacks and drinks for the kids \u2013 carrot sticks, spinach balls, tofu candy, wheat stalks, and crab grass. At least that\u2019s what I imagine it to be, since I don\u2019t really know what a healthy kid\u2019s snack is. At any rate, no pizza and soda for these guys!<\/p>\n
I was lucky; I grew up in a world where kids handled their own sports activities. Parents were not involved. Little League was the only organized sport for kids in the 1950\u2019s. I played on the Elks team in Binghamton, New York. We got a spaghetti dinner at the Elks clubhouse at the end of the year. That was our healthy snack for the season. There was never an adult in the bleachers, just siblings and bored kids looking for something to do. It wasn\u2019t because of lack of parental interest, but because the games were played on weekday afternoons during summer vacation, unlike the games today. Mom was home; Dad was at work. <\/span><\/p>\n