the child in the sandbox

with a shovel and pail

graduates to a tricycle,

to a bouncy ball, to a

kite, to a jump-rope or

mitt, to jacks or mumbly-

peg, to hopscotch and

somersaults, or sky-

tag on the playground,

to tree-climbing, to 50

yard dashes, to keep-

away, to shooting hoops,

to riding no-handed,

to swimming, to diving,

to skipping rocks, to may-

be noticing the opposite

sex, maybe that first kiss,

but that's later, some-

where down the road.

First, there is a sandbox.