Fun and games, finally

By the time I was in my mid-teens (a sophomore or junior in high school) Runnemede started acquiring some amusement areas, not a Ferris wheel or merry-go-round, but a place that you could go to, pay for, and have a night of enjoyment. Runnemede acquired it’s own miniature golf course -- down on Clements Bridge Road across from Mr. Softee, and there was also in that plot of land a trampoline pit.

What's a trampoline pit? It was a section of the mini-golf course where they had actually dug several pits then stretched the rubber across the pits and for 50-cents an hour you could trampoline as you wished. One big, big drawback to these trampolines, they really weren't very safe. Imagine a trampoline set in concrete! Surrounding the bouncy part of the trampoline, at ground level -- the same level as the rubber -- was concrete.

We didn't let that bother us at the time, but if my parents had seen the area in which we were trampolining, I don't think I would have been allowed to participate. And, at that time, no one heard of helmets or knee pads or elbow pads, as they would require now days should you go to a public trampoline area, if there was such a thing.

Miniature golfing was a cheap date -- 50 cents a game per person. Alan and I went there several times. We were pretty well matched in our golfing pursuit, almost always scoring the same score.

When I was a senior in high school, the town acquired a bowling alley. It was really a nice place to bowl. It was large, too, lots of lanes. Another cheap date. You could bowl as long as you wanted for $2 plus shoe rental (I got my own shoes real early in the game). I never joined a league there, but I certainly enjoyed bowling.

I was never good at bowling, even in my adult years when I was on a league. My head always knew what I had to do to get strikes, but my arms just wouldn't cooperate. Thus, my average was not something I would ever publish in a BLOG.

So, Runnemede finally had some places teens could go for good, clean fun. These amusements were short-lived however. The bowling alley burned to the ground (can we say arson?) after only three years of existence. The miniature golf course and trampoline pits closed shortly thereafter.

Well, it was nice while it lasted.