Sunday, June 30, 2013

Really???


I saw this sign when I was out walking the other day, and it set my imagination to work. Playground Church?? What's that about? In my mind, this ranks right up there with other odd combinations like bacon chili chocolate and toe nail polish for dogs. Maybe it works, but . . . who thinks of such things? And what do they think we think when we read about "playground church"?
I've participated in writing exercises where the author takes a couple of totally random things and ties them together in a story. Great for fiction. The marketing people for "playground church" might be surprised to know what came to mind when I gave "playground church" some thought. How about a sort of Bradbury-esque story about a lot of happy, no-thinking-required-type folks engaged in simplistic obeisance to playground rules? "Religion is fun" is their motto, even when people are bullying each other in the name of it. Or perhaps we can go a little darker: playground church is about clergy cavorting in a sandbox with innocent youngsters. Wait, that story has been done. Non-fiction.
It seems one needs to be very careful when putting words together. Even when it is only two words, the meaning can be interpreted in unforeseen ways.

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