Space- star date 1959!

We used to have family reunions at our house.  The village park was across the street and it had swings, tennis court, a small slide, and a hugh 14 foot high (or more) slide that had dips on it when you slid down.  Across the street the other way was a Lutheran school with some play equipment and a big baseball field.  So there was much to entertain every age group.  One reunion, the very first one I can remember, I was about 4 years old.  All the cousins decided it would be fun to see if we could all get on the tetter-totter at the same time.  Someone put me on one end behind the big metal handle bar and told me to hang on tight.  Either the tetter-totter was to big for me or my legs were to short to wrap them under the totter, or both.  Anyway all I had to keep me on was my strongest 4 year old grip.  We started out very carefully, up and down, with maybe 8 to 10 people on each end.  Then we progessed to each end hitting the ground to give the other end a good jolt.  This was when I wasn't having fun any more.  When I asked to get off, I was told to be quiet.  So I tried to hang in thereand really tried to hang on for dear life.  Well that didn't work!  One of my brillant cousins thought he could give our end a bigger bump by jumping off!  Needless to say that made the other end too heavy and they went down like a ton of bricks.  Everything happened so fast!  It was my first solo flight into space.  All I remember was the sailing through the air over the totter and then waking up in bed at home.  They told me that when I came down my head hit the cement around the totter.  Lucky for me the village undertaker was driving past the park to witness the launch.  He parked quickly, ran over check my pluse, and was probably dissapointed it wasn't a business call, I was alive.  Bleeding, but alive.  So he picked up that lifeless 4year old and carried me home.  It makes me wonder what my mom was thinking when she saw the undertaker bringing me home.  Well I was in trouble again.  What was I thinking getting on the totter with all the older kids?  Why didn't I hang onto the handle bar?  So many questions made my head hurt, or was it the cement?  Really, I never planned for that to happen.  This could account for my wierd sense of humor, being asked such stupid questions every time I got hurt.  It was nice to live and share this small brick from my life.