Remembering 'it' was definitely fun (11/08/06)

It would start about an hour before sundown on a summer evening.

Someone - I'm not sure how it was determined - was classified as "it." But even that wasn't carved in stone.

Leaning up against a tree, "it" would have a circle drawn on his or her back while solemn words were chanted. Solemn words, but embarrassingly racist words in retrospect: "Round as a moon, dark as a coon, who shall put the dot in?"

Then one of the other kids would poke "it" in the back. If the person who was "it" guessed the poker correctly, then the kid who poked became "it." If the guess was incorrect, then "it" stayed "it."

The game was called "60."

I have no idea why. Growing up on the west side of Portland, I assumed it was something universal in kid-dom. But having talked to a number of folks my age who grew up in different parts of the county, I now think it might have been specific to our neighborhood, bounded roughly on the north by Votaw Street, on the east by Pleasant Street, on the west by Middle Street, and on the south by Race Street.

Why it was called "60" remains a mystery. But I've been thinking about the game ever since I read a news story that some school systems want to outlaw tag. The game, they say, is too prone to injury. And it's rough on the little psyches of those who happen to be "it."

I remember "60" and say, Nonsense.

You couldn't have invented a game that worked better to build a sense of community and individuality at the same time.

Sure, it was tough being "it," but only for awhile.

After you had counted to 50 (never 60 for some reason), leaning against the same tree, you had to find the others and tag them.

By "the others" I mean virtually every other kid in the neighborhood.

In my case, that meant probably 15 or more kids ranging in age from 5 to 13 or 14.

Minimal age requirements were necessary so you understood the rules. The upper end of the age range came when kids decided, in an outburst of adolescence, that it was no longer cool to play the game with the little guys.

Sometimes, I think that "60" should have been called "Zombies." That's because it took the shape of one of those "Night of the Living Dead" movies.

When the person who was "it" tagged someone else, it didn't transfer "it." Instead, the tagging meant both were now "it" together.

The result was that the "it" population increased as the sun went down on a summer evening, while the "not it" population got smaller and smaller.

Sociologists would have fun charting a curve of the game's progress as the "it" sector grew and grew until reaching a tipping point. Then there were more kids who were "it" than "not it."

And so the game went, until finally, there was just one kid - usually fast on his feet or good at hiding, or both - who wasn't "it" and the whole neighborhood of other kids was looking for him.

If they caught him, they - like everyone throughout the game - had to say "60" when they made the tag.

And, as last one caught, the same kid was now "it" for the next round.

And so it went, until the afterglow faded and our mothers called us home from the back door and the lightning bugs rivaled the stars coming out in the sky.

Ban tag? Nonsense.

I may never know why it was called "60." But I know it was fun.[[In-content Ad]]