Skitching

When I was a kid growing up in Chicago we would crouch and wait between (parallel) parked cars and then when a moving car came by we would dart out, smack into the car, and fall to the ground pretending to be hit for fun. Then we’d scramble back between the parked cars and run hide in the gangway (a narrow space between two apartment buildings or brownstones) and wait to see if the car stopped or came back around thinking they really hit us. You knew you were good if the driver stopped or came back. It wasn't the smartest game and in truth one of several less than smart things I did as an unsupervised kid. There is that, but everyone would cheer and pound you on the back if the driver stopped or the car came back and if the driver got out of the car and looked around, that was even better. Hula hoops were in and roller skates that went on under your shoes and were tightened to fit with a key. I don’t remember any skateboards but all the parts to create them were available.

“Skitching” is a word I saw recently and it reminded me of those days. After I typed this blog I went to Google and You Tube and discovered that “skitching” is a well-known activity, in some circles considered a sport, so I mentioned the word on Skype and found that there was at least one other person (who may or may not read this blog) that didn’t know what it meant either. Skitching is an activity where kids surreptitiously latch on to the rear bumper of a car so they can be pulled down icy streets on foot, in inner tubes or on sleds (or in other seasons on skateboards or bicycles). None of the kids I played the car tagging game with were injured during our adventures but the same cannot be said for those involved with skitching. Skitching, although probably quite an adrenaline rush, seems inherently more dangerous and can result in all kinds of injuries with head trauma being the most serious. I think the adrenaline rush was probably part of my attraction to car tagging, but I don’t remember playing our game in the winter; it was strictly a summertime, school’s out kind of thing that bored city kids did when we weren't playing baseball in the street or jumping rope. It seems like we spent more time outside when I was growing up than kids do these days. I don’t recommend the car tagging game I used to play today and as far as hitching a ride behind a moving vehicle goes? I don’t recommend it either. It all seems pretty “skitchy” to me!