hide & seek

Childhood games were part of life for those of us in the 1950s.  Usually it was a group process involving a number of neighborhood kids.  Things were pretty straight forward :  "Army"; and/or "Cowboy & Indians", for the guys... "dolls"; and/or "dress-up" for the girls.  Occasionally we would join forces with "hide & seek" being the routine activity.

Now when one graduated from "peak-a-boo" to the task of "hide & seek", one needed a certain level of training.  The following shows a young one in such a training episode.

First, one must get the concept of hiding.   Just closing the eyes certainly hid everyone else, but it failed to recognize that the rest of the body remained exposed.  Over time, one was to learn how to place the exposed body parts behind certain obstacles, and not to giggle or laugh which added auditory hints to your selected location.  Special positions, light and darkness, and other considerations were often necessary.   The fellow above seems to be somewhere in between this learning curve.  Eyes opened...body parts somewhat hidden...swatting down [ a added benefit ]...and a determined look which seems to be saying... "they won't find me here". 

Hum...wonder as adults how many of us are still playing this game...hide & seek.