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tribune march 16 1988 all mess is by kate gilderdale s a short item in a recent weekend newspaper caught my eye vf- it seems a professor at an american university had came some- what belatedly i thought to the conclusion that no one really knows jhdw to have fun r now that this problem has been officially recognized by an no doubt we can look forward to all kinds of earnest pts to solve it atch out for shelves full of books eh fun how to have it i what it is and isnt and a list of socially acceptable fun things you can do without ruining your image s i8nr llpt therell be workshop and night school courses to analyze and define what fun really means the trouble with this 80sstyle approach is that having fun is something that usually just happens it doesnt require organiza tion team spirit a dress for success wardrobe or a degree in high technology out6fsbape overweight people to frayed denims and ancient sneakers can have at least as much fun as fabulously successful thin super achievers who appear to be organized down to the last millisecond having fun however can be a firivilous and unproductive past- time and will probably not further your career improveydur image or increase yourpdlitical clout theres a danger people will think youre not serious enough which may delay your meteoric rise to the top of course many may simply be unwilling to set aside their valu able time to relax and enjoy lifeeveri leisure time these days should consist of striving towards meaningful selfimprovement such admirable if depressinglywfirthy goals may be allveryr fine when selfinflicted but is it really fair to subject children to this brand of executive stress not only are large numbers of children spending long hours in institutions schools and daycare which is often unavoidable but many of them are also enrolled in organized activities almost every night of the week and often on weekends as well of courseextrahhutieular activites can be most enjoyable at some children can handle more than others but they need genr- free time too tlmetoplay alone or with friends to organize selves without adajts constantly jumpmlrimtsebahdflri tog them which team theyre on when they cae play or theyre doing their activity in the adult approved fashiwt- above all they need time to have silly wonderfb i fun children are perfectly able to make their own rnlesof play3 whos to say these rules arent better for them surpdi that older children constantly complain of having hothing many of them never had a moment in their young lives to cre their own amusement ve all know life can be a serious and uncertatobustoess aujlte more reason then to take a little time off now and again relax allow ourselves to indulge in something however firivilous that j really enjoyjsimply for the fun of it i tst slrv