Long ago and far away, in a world where there was no FDA, Surgeon General, FBI, CIA, ACLU, etc to warn us, there was Jarts. I'm sure you all remember Jarts - the extremely dangerous yard game where we took turns throwing large dart-like instruments with sharp metal tips inside a plastic ring that was just inches away from usually bare feet. You get the picture. But the thing is that back in the day when we played Jarts, nobody was worried about getting speared by them.
Today, I'm sure that we all can think back and come up with at least one Jarts horror story to tell. My Jarts horror story involved a good friend named Adam, who I witnessed getting a Jart straight through his foot. Yes, straight through his foot - as in, it entered the top of his foot, and exited underneath his foot close to his arch. That little incident required a few stitches, but if my memory is correct, I got him to the hospital fairly quick in my Dad's very cool old black Silverado.
We had a set of Jarts, but we never played them much at my home; not because the adults were afraid that the kids or more importantly they would be impaled by a Jart - but because nobody in my family was good at throwing Jarts. I come from a long line of expert horseshoe throwers, and even they had trouble with the Jarts. So I honestly have to say that they weren't played much at my home, but we had lots of friends who loved Jarts.
The old school metal-tipped Jarts have long been replaced by the "safer" plastic-tipped Jarts, but I think they just aren't the same. They're not nearly as heavy as the old school Jarts, and their trajectory is way different than the heavier metal-tipped Jarts. But at least they still have them, though I have to say I've never actually witnessed anyone playing the plastic-tipped Jarts. I'm pretty sure my friend Adam will never let his children play with the new improved Jarts.
2 comments:
These friends of mine used to always tell stories about a boy they grew up with back in the day. This was the neighborhood kid who was always getting hurt; you know the one. Well, this boy wound up with a metal tip jart stuck straight in his forehead. Wittnesses say on the way down, before ever hitting the ground, this boy cried out the familiar "GET YOUR MOM!!!!".
Ahhhhhh the good old days, and those famous words uttered directly before a trip to the Emergency Room.
A comment from my good friend and faithful reader JMc, who doesn't have an AOL sign-in name:
I have an original set of metal tipped jarts from the 70’s. It was my wife’s grandfather who had them. A mouse is now full of yellow plastic ring and shredded the box, but I still have the weapons. (Evil laugh)
I remember we had the plastic tip ones when I was younger and it was still fun to throw the sucker straight into the air and run like hell so you wouldn’t get stuck in the head. They made a real neat sound when they made contact on a concrete driveway. Of course this only lasted about 4 times and no more jarts.
Thanks for reminding me about the fun of being a kid.
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