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 Still Flying

In 2010, I ask my tree pruner to install a single rope swing in the oaks. We use heavy manila rope and he makes a seat from a wooden piece with bark still on it. I step up on the 4 feet high terrace wall, and then let go… here I am swinging again, out into the trees, over the bay, into the sunset… In the mornings, at all time of day, it clears my mind, makes me free... 

 

flying in 2014  

As a child I seek out the “good” swings in the neighborhood, especially those that are not much frequented by kids and their parents. I prefer to be myself, swinging as high as possible, hitting the upper guard, and then I jump off and fly to the ground. Later, for a couple years, a big professional metal set with 6 boat-shaped swings is installed each August not far from where we live. Two of those “boats” allow for swinging 360 degrees if you are strong enough to get high and make it over the top, the “still point.” Only younger adults attempt it, not many. Getting strapped at the chest – a quite minimal safety measure – prevents one from falling out. 

 

From my years of swinging, I figure using gravity and centrifugal force will keep me in the flying boat. 12 years old, I save 50 Pfennig (fifty cents) from my monthly pocket money (2 dollars) to fulfill my dream of being upside down, suspended in the air! I tell Papa about my plan – that I already know how to push in just the right timing with my whole body into the up-swing, using momentum and gravity. Not that I am a very confident kid, but adventuresome I am, and physically adept. Talking to my father, an engineer, about these laws of physics makes me feel grown-up. Well, first time I try, the boat seems just so very heavy for my slender frame. But with a feral ferocity I stay at it, higher and higher the boat swings, till I fly over… the unforgettable thrill… 

 

landing…

Another day: how I got to fly on a big swing in Theater Artaud, San Francisco, decades ago :) and an update on my current swing which was out of order for a year because of squirrels having chewed on the rope over the years… but now…. 






Comments

  1. Sam SJuly 9, 2022 at 7:16 PM

    What a beautiful post. This is freedom...Thank you Karina!

    ReplyDelete
  2. KarinaJuly 9, 2022 at 8:06 PM

    yeah, Sam – freedom – as kids we search fearlessly for it....

    ReplyDelete

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