Vincent Barr    Writing    Reading    About

What Would Your 10-year Old Self Have Loved to Do in NYC?

05 Jul 2014

As a 10-year old, I had a closet fantasy.

I imagined and re-imagined discovering a small crawlspace in my bedroom closet that lead to an underground tunnel and exited to a safe, secluded place deep in the woods. You know, in case the bad guys ever came, or in case I ever wanted to venture off.

Having seen the Hidden rooms thread on Reddit, I know I’m not alone. In fact, I hope that hidden rooms make the top 100 list of our collective consciousness. And tree houses shouldn’t be too far behind.

While I never came to find that hidden tunnel, I did have a sense for exactly where that tunnel would exit in the woods. And to me that was the next best thing.

And so I would write and sketch plans for the tree house that I was to build at the entrance of a missing tunnel. Before letting the screen door slam shut, I would yell to my mom (formerly, ‘ma’), “I may not be back for a while!”

My backpack was full of ‘supplies’ - a scribbled blueprint; a peanut butter and jelly sandwich; rope and twine; paper and colored pencils; a hammer and nails; and a pocket knife. Any excuse to use a pocketknife was a good one, as a kid. In hindsight, the only time I used it was to carve the initials of my second- or third-grade crush into a toppled tree.

I would be back before dinner.

After all, the woods aren’t much fun in the dark, as a kid, by yourself - and one can only climb trees (I mean, architect tree homes) for so long.

When I discovered Airbnb’s Tree House Wishlist, it brought me back to those days. I thought, ‘Wow! My 10-year old self would have loved this;’ My 28-year-old self does!

With this in mind, I ask for your help.

Imagine that you’re a 10-year-old boy who will be visiting your uncle in New York City for the weekend. You’ve only been once before and during your visit you toured Central Park and learned how to build boats out of bark (thanks to your awesome uncle).

What would you want to do?

Please reply via comment and I’ll add your suggestion to the body of this post.

Here is my initial list of things to do in NYC with my nephew:

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