Climb Every....well...Everything!

     There are occasionally days when my slight
hearing loss actually comes in handy.
     Yesterday was one of those days!
     After a delightful meal shared with family
members at my favorite restaurant my wife
reminded everyone that she had spotted
a coupon for a Children's Play Center very
close to our location.
     Thus it was that I, four other adults, and
the three pre-teens in our party found
ourselves at the "Climb-A-Lot Clubhouse"
near Tamaqua in Schuylkill County.
      Some 40 or 50 kids had beaten us there!
     "Climb-A-Lot" reminded me of a Prison
block where the walls were made of nets rather
than brick and passage ways,  and slides allow
children to crawl and climb anywhere they
choose. It's a lot like visiting the primate
cages in a zoo.
      The yells, shouts, and screams of these
kids will probably be with me for days if not
the remainder of the week. Fun can be loud!
       Fortunately there are benches for those
of you "just visiting" the facility.
       Cries of "Daddy,  or Grandpa" had
every one's heads turning every few minutes
although none of the calls were directed to
us from anybody we knew!
        There's something else you'll notice
pretty quickly.  Although adults are not
permitted in the maze of netted passage ways,
they all sit there, like the kids, in their
stockings! Thankfully I had my Sunday
go to meeting socks on when I learned of
the rule!  No Shoes Allowed!
        In spite of the constant noise I had
just started to doze off when an
energetic 3 or 4 year old ran by swinging
her arms wildly and nicked two of my toes.
        It was an innocent though stinging
reminder that kids can be dangerous!
        They really ought to have a warning
label attached!
        It's amazing. The kids do all the
running and climbing yet I left feeling
I had just scaled Mt Everest!
        Now it's time for me to get a nap!
        Hope no one takes my sneakers and
that all your NEWS is good!