Tether ball anyone?..

Tether ball is in the rear view mirror..... Or is it?

The playground 'wayside': tether ball.. red rover... dodgeball... king of the hill... crack the whip.. snowball fights.. duck duck goose (yes, 'tap' is "too violent".. and the possibility of today's chubby children running around as the 'goose' subtly programs kids to want foie gras. < I KNOW, I had to look it up too.

Tether: the utmost length to which one can go into action. to fasten or confine. a rope, chain, or the like, by which an (animal, kid, wife, hubby, alchy, user, depressed person, anthropophobia <- I KNOW, I had to look it up too.

Tethered can be a good thing. Like the wedding ring. A circle has no beginning or end and is therefore a symbol of infinity. Sure, overkill. Sure, sometime the 'ball' flies off the rope..."Heather no tether" forgets the circular path home.. Uh huh, sometimes "Bing no string" too.

I've noticed... people are tethered to their God... their hound/cat... their job... alcohol.. tobacco... opioids (we didn't haveta look up that one, but we mighta 15 years ago).. cocaine... cannabis... food.. 7 come 11...sex...shopping (Amazon Prime YIPPEE!).. work... exercise.. video games... cell phone.. yada.

No, not all tethers are bad.

Sometimes though, ya miss the ball with your hand and it hits that damn metal connector on the rope and it hurts like hell, hence, why Patty(or Paul) Principal deemed "huh uh, no more, yank the damn pole outta the ground, store it over there by the merry go round."

Sometimes too, in life, and in tether, it gets too damn tough and ya ain't got it inya. Remember those times, jumping as high as you could, only to see the ball rise higher higher, the string grow shorter and shorter, speed faster and faster - and kabaam, it suddenly stops and you're duck duck goose is cooked? Can happen in ANY of the tethers above.

Whilst sure, I play tether ball in life.. I'd much rather 'the connecter' be like the chain on a porch swing - back and forth, any damn speed I like. Or, like the kids amusement park ride..you're tethered to the pole, but instead up wrapping up, shortening the path, ya go round and round, ya take it all in, you say "wow" on the inside, and life, that kinda tethered, is pretty damn good, scenic, thrilling, amazing.

Rides end, damnit. Ya gotta get off, back to reality. No tether, heaven help me/us. Life? Sometimes I want, need, lean on, addict (can addict be a verb?) on tether.

Then, there are the untethered... I'll wear what I want, when I want. I'll go, do, see as I please (say, canya loan me a hunnerd?).hehe.. ya run, like they left the gate open. Ya fly, like you're mylar. Ya swim, like you're Michael Phelps. Hell, you maybe enjoy both, freedom/tether, like the lazy river ride.

Remember standing in line at recess, awaiting your turn to tether? Heck, little did we know we had a lifetime of it, or not, ahead.

I am finding, this untethered thing called retirement can be pretty damn nice. (Don't get excited, I WILL work again, somewhere, hopefully not tethered).. but, after a few weeks untethered I find:

I get in my car when I wanna, or not. I go to bed, awaken, no matter the time, the Daylight Savings (or not), the day of the week, I'll go get fast food, when I want, eat what I want, oh, and I try to go during working folks lunch hour, stare at the drive up menu for a minute or seven, simply as a payback.

Contrary to what Sammy Hagar says, I CAN drive 55. I've only tried the middle lane on Interstate thus far, can't do the left lane, fear of crotch-rockets.

Again though, many enjoy the tether, for obvious, varied reason. You know, like the couple in their own confines of their bedroom. Perverts. jk.

Rope a dope. Ya got me going in circles, bomp bomp bomp,ohhh oh around and around I go... keep turning left Earnhardt Jr... do whatever Ethel says Fred... Tie me kangaroo down sport...

Lose your blues, everybody cut, everybody cut
Everybody cut, everybody cut
Everybody cut, everybody cut
Everybody, everybody cut footloose

Got the runs, er, I mean I gotta run. Gonna grab a bite to eat, maybe take a nap, walk around the block (turning right).. or maybe even take a drive to Loose Park.

Happy tethers to you, happy tethers to you, happy TETHERS dear people, happy tethers to you.
Love, the one tethered to this damn keyboard, Victurd.