No Child Left Inside!
That was the underlying message of last night's Visual Essay put on at the Franklin County Library by Floyd's Fred First.
His presentation was prose poetry interwoven with his magical photography. He and his wife had visited their daughter and husband and grandaughter in the midwest, and the family decided to take their visitors to a Childrens' Fun Center. The parking lot was jammed with vehicles, and they entered to find a garish world of video machines, noisy clanging bells, bright lights, and kids straddling make-believe ATVs with all the accompanying sounds.
Remembering that 'Grammie and Grumpy' were from a peaceful place in the mountains, the family retreated and drove to a nearby park. No other vehicles were in the parking lot. It was quiet. Soon, grandaughter found an abandoned bright blue kite, missing some pieces. She had a great time 'flying' that kite, to the adults' delight.
Fred went on to feature pictures of his grandaughter as she climbed around in a Floyd creek, dipping water into some discarded food containers, picking up a salamander, getting her jeans thoroughly soaked, and all the while grinning in pure childish delight.
No Child Left Inside? We are becoming a nation of children sitting in front of the flickering blue light of their computers, 'chatting' with strangers, circling the globe without moving from their chair, or their room, or their house.
Fred advocates breaking free, taking your child or grandchild or neighbor child outside, into the creek, up the side of a mountain. He suggests we learn the names of the plants around us, the birds up in our trees, and teach this to our children. Show them the world that exists outside the window to that bedroom of theirs, the world most of us grew up taking for granted. Live in a big city? I grew up in Washington, DC, yet I recall biking to the library and sitting under a weeping willow tree, hidden away, while I eagerly began reading one of the stack of books I had in my bike basket. My library card was like a magic carpet.
After years of hikes and canoe trips and other wilderness adventures, my husband and I found ourselves standing on a ledge above the Blackwater River, looking across at a sloping field of Angus cattle and the Blue Ridge Mountains beyond, knowing we would buy these 12 acres of wooded land, because somehow, we too were home.
Be sure to visit Fred's http://www.fragmentsfromfloyd.com/ and read his blog, enjoy his photography, order his book, Slow Road Home: a blueridge book of days. Our book club selected his book for this month's read, and last night, he graced us with his Visual Essay.
His presentation was prose poetry interwoven with his magical photography. He and his wife had visited their daughter and husband and grandaughter in the midwest, and the family decided to take their visitors to a Childrens' Fun Center. The parking lot was jammed with vehicles, and they entered to find a garish world of video machines, noisy clanging bells, bright lights, and kids straddling make-believe ATVs with all the accompanying sounds.
Remembering that 'Grammie and Grumpy' were from a peaceful place in the mountains, the family retreated and drove to a nearby park. No other vehicles were in the parking lot. It was quiet. Soon, grandaughter found an abandoned bright blue kite, missing some pieces. She had a great time 'flying' that kite, to the adults' delight.
Fred went on to feature pictures of his grandaughter as she climbed around in a Floyd creek, dipping water into some discarded food containers, picking up a salamander, getting her jeans thoroughly soaked, and all the while grinning in pure childish delight.
No Child Left Inside? We are becoming a nation of children sitting in front of the flickering blue light of their computers, 'chatting' with strangers, circling the globe without moving from their chair, or their room, or their house.
Fred advocates breaking free, taking your child or grandchild or neighbor child outside, into the creek, up the side of a mountain. He suggests we learn the names of the plants around us, the birds up in our trees, and teach this to our children. Show them the world that exists outside the window to that bedroom of theirs, the world most of us grew up taking for granted. Live in a big city? I grew up in Washington, DC, yet I recall biking to the library and sitting under a weeping willow tree, hidden away, while I eagerly began reading one of the stack of books I had in my bike basket. My library card was like a magic carpet.
After years of hikes and canoe trips and other wilderness adventures, my husband and I found ourselves standing on a ledge above the Blackwater River, looking across at a sloping field of Angus cattle and the Blue Ridge Mountains beyond, knowing we would buy these 12 acres of wooded land, because somehow, we too were home.
Be sure to visit Fred's http://www.fragmentsfromfloyd.com/ and read his blog, enjoy his photography, order his book, Slow Road Home: a blueridge book of days. Our book club selected his book for this month's read, and last night, he graced us with his Visual Essay.
Labels: Fred First's visual essay
posted by Marion | 9:09 PM
3 Comments:
That is my pet peeve--kids inside. And I hate those video places, Chuckie Cheese and all those warehouse places! What are people THINKING?
I was lucky to have an "outside" childhood, too, as most of the kids of our generation had. Back in the days when parents weren't buddies with their kids, kids were expected to go out so they wouldn't be underfoot.
I have fond memories of playing all over the neighbohood and riding my bike for miles. Now kids are driven to the bus stop and the parents stay with them until the bus comes. And "play" is now what kids do on an organized team or on an X-Box.
Wow - I can't wait to check out Fred's site. It sounds like a great presentation.
Did you know there's an actual program called "No Child Left Inside Days"? It runs through November 9th. You can find info here.
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