Imagine this. It's 2086. An earnest young graduate student in anthropology turns on his camera, and turns to the stooped, white-haired gentleman sitting across from him.

"Tell me more about this game 'tag' -- how was it played exactly?"

It's happening all across the country.

Workers come and dismantle the tall slides, the jungle gym, the big swing set. The see-saw disappears. So does the towering fireman's pole, ending the childhood ritual of standing frozen in fear at the top until gathering enough nerve for that first ride down.