My wife said years ago – “You know, I reckon you should go and see the doctor too, because I reckon you’ve got it”... this is only after 20 years of marriage. And the “you’ve got it” bit? Well, our son was diagnosed with ADD. No H in there... just the common or garden variety, ADD. Great kid! No mistake. Bit hard to keep on task, but what a sense of humour and a keen wit. Intelligent too!
If things around him weren’t happening enough, though, and the scene was getting just a little boring... it was time to create some stimulation of his own... and he drove some of his teachers to the brink of insanity. But on the up side, he had a great personality, and it’s amazing what teachers can tolerate if they actually like you.
But anyway... you get the picture. Now that the background check is over, picture this scene –
Some of “the boys” used to go down to the state tennis centre after dark... after midnight actually, and the attraction there was the “big top” over the outside court. When the night time dew had settled it was one big slippery slide. It is a large white vinyl big top, supported by two huge poles either side of the court in the centre forming a ridge. From this ridge, each side of the big top sloped down sharply from the ridge and gradually levelled out past the end of the court in both directions. One side was steeper and shorter than the other, so this was the non-preferred side. But the longer side? – What a rush!
The court was actually outside the tennis centre... that is, not fenced in and there weren't any “No Trespassing” signs. So! Boys will be boys, and this was their playground.
With the dew of the night settling on the vinyl, and the right kind of shoes, skatebord shoes, it wasn’t a big top at all... it was a ski slope! An easy climb up one of the supports, a steep climb to the ridge and then thirty yards of awesome rush as you 'skiied' down the slope. Rinse and repead! Drop to the ground, run around, back up and of again.
Great for a bit... but what is it about ADD people and the need for stimulation? Hey! This is good, but what would make it better is a faster ride... more dew. What? This is all we are going to have? So what do you do? Gareth's solution was – “hey guys! Let's get that little wheelie bin over there and put water in it and pour it down the slope.” And they did. They filled it partly with water (as much as they could lift), manhandled it to the top of the ridge and poured it down the slope. Gareth's idea, so he went first.
What was “rush” before was now plain terrifying. It took him all of half a second to spot the danger... way too fast! Damn! Sit down hard... pants on the vinyl... still way too fast. Twist over, cat-like on the belly, going backwards, finger nails clawing at the vinyl... no change in speed, and the boys up top looked in horror at the frantic face and saucer eyes as gravity did it’s thing and he disappeared over the edge.
Well, pleased to report he’s slowed down a bit since then. On the serious side, we nearly lost him that night as the photo shows...
