Wax On

We lived across the street from the village park where the slide was really tall  like 12 -14 feet high.  When I was little I would only use the baby slide that was maybe 5 feet high.  It was not as scary to climb, but was tricky to set down on at the top.  There was not much room to maneuver, and the platform was very short for anyone to sit on.  This was fun to go down because you went really slow.  When you would get to the end of the slide, the height was perfect for short little legs to reach the ground without falling down.  But as I got older and braver the bigger slide was fun, well funner!!  It was a slide that was not a straight downward slope, there were two waves you experienced on the way down.  That helped to propel you off the end and sort of gave you a thrill of up and down movement as you came down.  The secret to an even better ride was wax paper!!!! There also were 2 different ways to effectively use the wax paper.  One was to put it under you before you started to slide down, which was better each time you used it and really fun if every other time you used a new sheet!!  The other method was to slowly go down backwards and really wax the slide hard by hand to get all the surface as slippery as possible.  For this last method you needed to have at least 4 fresh sheets of the paper with you to cover it with new wax all the way.  What really was the topper, each time after, you waxed, it got slipperier!!  Now I should mention at the end of the  slide where you land, was a big drop off. It was filled with sand of course, but the section exactly at the end was two and a half feet drop.  Then the sand banked around that for at least 3 feet in each direction.  Man, when it was waxed well, going down was a blast, and the ride was fast!!!!!!!  But, I would only play there if no other people were there.  If it looked like another kid was coming to the park, I would start to walk home.  Then patiently wait until they were done playing, to return.  I can not remember a time other than with relatives that I ever played or ever stayed at the park with someone else.  At that time I was too shy to talk to, play with, or be around other children.  It was a way of protecting myself from getting hurt or rejected by them.  So one day I waxed that slide real good and went home to get my dad to come and see what a good job I had done!  He went down just one time.  He was not prepared for how slippery it truly was, so when he reached the end of the ride he sailed off to the edge of the soft sand.  Oh man, my dad hurt his back!  That made me feel so horrible, so responsible for his injury, I cried.  He kept telling me that it was alright he was not hurt that bad.  Then he told me what a good job of waxing I had done, but to be mindful of others who did not realize how slick it was before going down.  That was the last time I ever waxed a slide in my life!  Watching dad fly in the air made my stomach flip and I stayed near by to get him what ever he needed.  After dad got better, I did not have much of an interest in slides anymore.  Someone could get seriously hurt!  Sorry dad!!  Too bad Diane wasn't home, I would have asked her before dad for a test run!!