I’m not Thoreau, or one of those deluded hippies that wants to forsake culture all together. I want some kind of illustrious, pubic, and commercialized space —I just wish they all weren’t so vacant these days. But, your comment resonates deeply, because by two brothers and I (along with about a dozen kids from our neighborhood) built and entire labyrinth of underground tunnels in our backyard. It was a truly elaborate piece of engineering on the part of my oldest brother. We dug flashlight into the sides of the walls, and covered up some of the holes in the yard with plywood. It was like a gigantic moles nest for kids. Unfortunately, it was extremely dangerous, and when the neighborhood kids got talking, and local parents came knocking, we ultimately were ordered to fill it all in by the police. Who were mellow and, if I remember correctly, were rather impressed with the whole thing.

Yeah, playing in your yard and doing wild, homegrown stuff was something we did and enjoyed, but we also live in the world, and I enjoyed Nunley’s just as much, and while we have cardboard boxes and YouTube, I have to say we don’t have the same kind of localized flavor and class when it comes to public spaces for having fun together, never mind the god damn playdates. And that is an isolating and alienating reality that is further killing our culture.