I loved recess in elementary school. It was all about playing games for me, and the games usually involved a bouncy red rubber ball.
Between my 2nd-grade and 5th-grade years the volleyball-sized red rubber ball was the only piece of equipment needed for several of the games that occupied most of my recesses. With it we’d play games called two-square, one-square, dodge ball, and kickball. In a pinch, the red rubber ball could also be used as a basketball or soccer ball or to play three-flies-up.
Because it could be used for many purposes, just being in possession of the red rubber ball on the playground at the beginning of recess did not give a clear indication of the game to be played. Unlike a football or basketball, which mostly spoke for themselves, your intentions with the red rubber ball had to be announced, in words or actions. You had to “name the game.”
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Name the Game
Labels:
communication,
conversations,
couples,
game,
name,
narrative,
patterns,
pause,
preferred story,
red rubber ball,
story
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