For lunch today, I went back to Northsight Park because it was such a nice day. I worked on the requirements a little, shot a few hoops, and swung.
Oh yeah, he just said “swung.” As in playground swinging. On a lark, I decided to try something that I haven’t really, seriously done in many years. OMG, I had forgotten how much fun it is. There’s that moment once you’ve been at it for awhile where you hit the top of your upswing and you kind of bounce. It’s a brief sensation that you’re going to fall off, break something, and have a lot of ‘splainin’ to do—but you don’t.
Feeling daring, I even did a couple of jumps. One was the classic distance jump, but the other was one of my childhood favorites where you hold on to the chains with one hand as you jump off. You kind of spin 180° and you can really control your landing. Even if you don’t jump, it’s still exhilirating.
I can totally understand what kids see in swinging.
[UPDATE (6/9/05): Geekpress links to an explanation of why pumping your legs makes you go higher.]