By Rick Ryckeley
Fayette County Fire & Emergency Services

The last thing I remember was someone running into me and hitting the ground hard. "Playing games is just part of growing up," Coach said as he helped me get to my feet. "There's always a winner and a loser when you play a game. Now get back in there and try not to get hit!"

Don't get hit. Good advice when you're playing a game of dodge ball at school.

Dodge ball is a game played with two teams of 20 kids. One team stands hand to hand and forms a circle about 20 feet around. The other team stands inside the circle. The object of the game is to throw the dodge ball (a red rubber ball a little bit bigger than a volley ball) and hit the kids inside the circle. To win, the team outside must hit all the kids inside the circle before recess is over. The team inside can win if anyone is left on the inside when the bell rings. As always, the team to beat was the fourth-graders.

The third-graders were on the inside, and the fourth-graders were on the outside; I was a third-grader. This year we had the best chance to win 'cause we had a secret weapon: Goofy Steve. We had never won a game against the fourth-graders, but now we were close.

We had played all recess and the only survivors left in the center were Neighbor Thomas, Twin Brother Mark, Goofy Steve and me. It was Down the Street Bully Brad's turn with the ball, and he was aiming for Goofy Steve.

In addition to being the funniest kid in class, one thing Goofy Steve could do was dodge a ball. He was tall, had strawberry red hair, a face full of freckles and was the best darn dodge ball player in all of third grade.

Bully Brad was ready to throw. Goofy Steve ran around inside the circle, you guessed it, acting goofy. He dodged, ran, bobbed and weaved around us making goofy faces at Down the Street Bully Brad big mistake.

Goofy Steve turned his back, and with a mighty throw Down the Street Bully Brad let the red dodge ball fly. Goofy Steve slipped and fell, the ball missing him only by inches and hitting Twin Brother Mark in the arm instead. Twin Brother Mark went down, another dodge ball casualty. And then, only three were left.

The fourth-graders had seemed unbeatable that year; no one had even come close until today. If we still had one person in the circle by the time the bell rang, we'd win. The winners got an extra sticky bun with lunch and bragging rights for the week. Losers had to help the coach clean up the playground.

It was Older Brother Richard's time to throw the ball, and I knew he was gonna aim for me.

Older Brother Richard was still mad at me because of what happened the week before. It was raining, and all of us were playing tag in the house, something we were only allowed to do in the basement.

Only us boys weren't playing in the basement. Older Brother Richard had been left in charge while Mom went to the store in the green station wagon with wood panels. I was hiding behind the swinging door that led from the dining room into the kitchen. Older Brother Richard was running around trying to tag Big Brother James.

James had run into the dining room, and Older Brother Richard was gonna take a shortcut through the kitchen to head him off. He ran through the kitchen and through the swinging door I was hiding behind. Older Brother Richard, the swinging door and me landed in a pile on the floor game over.

When Mom got home, Older Brother Richard had to get a switch from the swamp in the back yard.

Even before he threw the ball, I knew I was going to get hit, but I didn't know that the ball would bounce off me and hit Neighbor Thomas in the leg. Older Brother Richard had thrown the rare double-dodge-ball-knock-out! Now we were down to one person in the center with only three minutes left.

The second graders stopped playing tag and ran over to see: Could it be done? Could we beat the fourth-graders? The fourth-graders gave the ball to their best thrower: Down the Street Bully Brad.

Goofy Steve was the only one left in the middle now. He dodged, ran, bobbed and weaved, but this time he bobbed when he should've weaved. Down the Street Bully Brad threw the dodge ball as hard as he could. The bell rang just before the ball hit Goofy Steve in the back. We had won and beat the fourth-graders for the first time! Goofy Steve was carried off the playground on our shoulders.

We all got sticky buns; the fourth-graders had to clean up the playground. Older Brother Richard was not amused.

Nowadays, third- and fourth-graders aren't allowed to play dodge ball anymore; dodge ball has been deemed too violent a game by some school systems. No longer can second-graders play hide-and-go-seek or tag because in both games, someone must be "it," and being "it" could be bad for the children's self-esteem. Children today are being taught that everyone's a winner and no one's a loser. But everyone can't be a winner; we just don't have enough sticky buns to go around.

Everyone's a winner and no one's a loser a novel concept, one which has seemingly reached even major league baseball and the All-Star Game. If there were no loser in the All-Star Game, I wonder who cleaned up their playground.

[Rick Ryckeley is employed by the Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services. He can be reached at saferick@bellsouth.net.]

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