Dain-juh Zone!

Do you like to take risks?  Does your idea of “fun” involve throwing your body around with expensive pieces of sports equipment strapped to you?  When you see a ten-story carnival ride called “Death Plummet” made of rusty metal and baling wire, operated by a paint-huffing middle-school dropout, do you think, “Clear my calendar, I know what I’m doing tonight”?  Good, you are doing your part to clear the gene pool of thrill-seeking offspring.  The rest of us are safe, calculating, and we cherish a long healthy life that ends in sleep and not a fireball of twisted wreckage.

I should be fair.  My son and I are cautious.  When we go on rides with sudden and unexpected drops it isn’t “fun”, it is “unpleasant”.  Swinging is fine as long as it doesn’t go too high.  Exhibit one:  correct swinging height.

 

Note the lose fingers, happy smile, low angle of attack.  Exhibit two:  aggressive swinging.

Note the subdued smile, rigid extremities, and strong grip on the harness.  Thatta boy, prudence with risk.  Let’s compare this with Child Harbat, never one to shy away from a crumbling cliff edge, neck-snapping roller coaster ride, or perilous jungle gym climb.  Exhibit three:  a study in risk aversion.

 

Someone is sitting in the swing correctly and holding on tight, the other is trying to see how high you can swing a baby swing until you fall out of it upside-down.  Highhh…waaaay to the…dain-juh zone!