The Novelty of being Fearless

When I was ten I would haul my sled on top of this old hut thing my dad made years ago, that held our fire wood. I'd climb up the fence, dragging this bright green sled up to the top and then I'd angle it just right so I'd miss the scattered logs, but land in the snow. It was a good 5 foot drop, not much a ride since the sled was longer than the actual roof. But I did it, because I was fearless.

When I was 12 I looked at a four foot ramp that was made by some neighborhood kids, got back a few driveways and skated off it. I remember the landing. Hard, rough. Sprained an ankle and my wrist, not to mention I was picking grass out of that skinned knee for days.

I used to climb any tree, as long I could reach the branch. I'd run across busy streets, sneak into the Discovery Zone pretending I was with a party. We'd scam the McDonalds people into giving us a gazillion kiddie cones and then go play on the play place, not in, but on top of; Where Kids weren't allowed.

We'd sled down the slides, jump off swings, make ramps out of wood we had stolen from construction sites and go off them on our roller blades, bikes and even a scooter if we could. The house across the street from my parent's has the steepest driveway in the neighborhood. And the house next to it has a perfectly leveled curb.

We'd zoom down the drive way, Cut the corner way to fast and launch ourselves into the air. If you landed or pulled a trick you were the god of the neighborhood. If you fell, or got hurt you had no option but to get back up, shake it off, and try again.

Dislocated my knee Jumping off that curb.

When we were kids there was no fear. We were indestructible, and any injury could be fixed with a band-aid. Bruises would fade, cuts and scrapes would heal. We lived for the moment, somehow knowing that once we reached a certain age it'd no longer be fun.

And it's like that. Gone are the days of sledding off anything with snow on it, the impromptu snowball fights, the back yard wrestling clubs where we'd beat the shit out of each other. Gone are the games of tag, the races around the block and the adventures on our bikes to discover super awesome Tree forts.

I miss it. I miss being a kid. I miss being fearless, living for the moment and not giving a shit about what could happen, just wanting to prove that I can do it. What point in our lives do we all realize that Yeah, maybe we can do it, but it's just best not to try?

How do you go back to being blissfully unaware of consequences after you grow up?