A few days ago, I went to a nearby playground to read. (Not having kids makes this weird; not having a moustache makes it OK).

That’s when inspiration struck. What if this playground had a theme? Maybe a space theme. Or a jungle theme. Or…Legends of the Hidden Playground, anyone?

Or what if sport elements were used to encourage kids to make up their own games? Hoops of varying heights, raised bases, nets, that sort of thing. Or maybe video games elements. Green pipes for Super Mario Bros., a giant maze for Pac-Man.

Now maybe these random and crazy ideas just got your wheels turning. Maybe you just thought, “Star Wars playground! Revenge of the Slide!” But for me, seeing this playground, this dull and altogether junky playground*, is what inspired me most. Junk, or that which is nowhere near its potential, has a way of jump-starting my brain. How would I improve things? Sometimes this means rewriting a clunky website to be elegant and intriguing. Sometimes this means adding some high-flyin' spunk to a tired birthday cake recipe. And sometimes this means coming up with ridiculous themes for a neighborhood park, and then blogging about it. 

*A friend argued with me that this playground was merely simple, not dull. I say a Swiss Minimalist-themed playground could do simple much better.

Both photos taken by Brooke Randel. And if you like silly cake photos, you can find more at cargocollective.com/brookerandel.