Kickball, a game originally played with inflamed, sundried elephant testicles, is considered by most people to be a playground activity for children; however, Kickball has taught me some valuable lessons in life.
“In his courageous travels, famed explorer, James Hankinsmak, befriends the Nobui tribe. It is here in this arid climate that Hankinsmak would witness the game that would later bear his name. He wrote of a game played with inflamed, sundried elephant testicles in which one of the testicles was rolled from an elevated mound to a designated Mohafa (or kicker). The Mohafa is allowed to request speed and texture of the roll, and scoring is determined by the distance of the kick. The importation of Hankinsmak's records to the U.S. has been traced to Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine's 1981 World Tour. With this information now in the hands of Americans, the hybrid of Baseball and Hankinsmak was created - thus introducing... Kickball” (The History of Kickball 1).
Childhood is often an age of innocence. It’s a time of learning how to get along in a big world. It’s a time in which friends grow up and discover who they are and who they want to be. Childhood is the foundation of our lives. This is when we establish rituals and rules that can be useful throughout our lives. Sometimes these rules can be learned though a simple child’s game.
In a small suburb, just outside of Washington, DC, the neighborhood of small tract houses was laid out neatly in rows. The homes were built backyard to backyard in the early 1960’s. Each dwelling was a different color, but mostly the same style. Nearly everyone had a metal screen door with their initial proudly displayed in swirling cursive. The postage stamp sized front...
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...e. I thought I was playing a game but I was really getting an education. The funny thing is that although we kept score, I can’t remember who won or lost. I discovered that in life, sometimes it doesn’t really matter who wins or loses. I learned to be nice and not hurt anyone. I was taught how to follow rules and play fair. I found out that a storm drain is too heavy to lift and sometimes we just had to forget about the lost ball. I understood that friends were good to have on your side. Childhood was a time when I felt loved and accepted by my friends. In my youth, I learned how to get along in life by playing a simple childhood game called Kickball.
Works Cited
“Official Rules of the Game,” Kickball. 1998-2011. WAKA, LLC, kickball.com. Web 15 Feb. 2011
“The History of Kickball.” National Kickball Association. 2010. nka-kc.com. Web 16 Feb. 2011
To appreciate a row house neighborhood, one must first look at the plan as a whole before looking at the individual blocks and houses. The city’s goal to build a neighborhood that can be seen as a singular unit is made clear in plan, at both a larger scale (the entire urban plan) and a smaller scale (the scheme of the individual houses). Around 1850, the city began to carve out blocks and streets, with the idea of orienting them around squares and small residential parks. This Victorian style plan organized rectangular blocks around rounded gardens and squares that separated the row houses from major streets. The emphasis on public spaces and gardens to provide relief from the ene...
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A childhood is the delicate phase of every adolescent's life where they must mature into their own person, with their own responsibilities. Although every individual will eventually bloom with their own personality, morals, and perspectives, the education and values we learn and see along the way add to the fingers that mold. We begin when we are born, and are taken in by strangers. These priceless people show us love, and just how strong attachments can be. Family ties snare us in their loving webs and become the support network to catch us throughout our youthful falls. They are our first real pictures of people, and their actions and emotions immediately become examples.
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