Kurt Philip Behm

 

The first 12 years of Kurt Behm's life was spent growing up right next to a public Playground in the late 1950's. Every important lesson of his young life would either be taught or underscored within the borders of its fence. Kurt's eight years at the Playground would be filled with more magic and wonder than at any other time of his life. Everything that a developing boy needed would be taught there, and more!

He went on to establish two national marketing corporations that were founded and based upon the principles the playground taught. Kurt now visits his Playground almost every day as he walks with his best friend Colby (85lb. Chocolate Lab.) and is both saddened and concerned by how empty and devoid of life his Playground, and almost all playgrounds are, most of the time.

In the spirit of trying to recapture the pure magic of 'free-play' he began writing this book. It has been the driving force in his life and has directed all learning since he was a boy, and one that is sadly missing and unavailable to young boys today. He is convinced that the principles in 'The Death Of The Playground' can re-instill the possibility of 'Free-play' for young boys growing up today. Before we can do that though, we first have to understand what we've lost.

 

"A superbly written roadmap for the lessons corporate America has been missing as the last generation of bootstrap sleeves up CEO's has retired. Fond memories and funny stories remind me of the simple leadership lessons and basic behavior that are lacking in today's business leaders. These are the basic lessons that sadly no MBA program seems to cover." M. Heil

 

 

PageOnelit.com:  Where did you grow up and was reading and writing a part of your life? Who were your earliest influences and why?

Kurt Philip Behm: I grew up ten miles west of Philadelphia. My earliest influences were Twain and Melville. I was always attracted to the timeless messages in their books, and the way they were able to tell a story within a story. My maternal grandfather was also a huge influence in my early childhood. He never lost the spirit of the Playground within himself. And made sure that 'Free-Play' was a big part of my life.

 

PageOnelit.com:  Briefly tell us about your new book, THE DEATH OF THE PLAYGROUND. What is "Free-Play'? And explain the title THE DEATH OF THE PLAYGROUND as it relates to the book.

Kurt Philip Behm: 'The Death Of The Playground' is about what happened to 'Free-Play' when the Public Playground system died in the late 1960's, early 1970's.

My generation spent almost all of our free time playing at our local Public Playground without the direct supervision of parents or adults. That's the definition of 'Free-Play'. As a result, we made up our own games, set the rules, learned to fit in with an age group that ranged from 8-15, and as a result we learned to deal with the consequences of our actions. It was truly a microcosm of what the 'real' world would be like in just a few more short years. Every important fundamental lesson a boy needed to learn on his way to manhood the Playground taught. Lessons like, watching and biding your time, learning to function and fit in within a group, teamwork, loyalty (being a friend), innovation and how to improvise, handling disappointment (such as being picked last for a game), and that life was not always fair. if you were 9 years old and a 13 year old said you fouled him on the basketball court, it was a foul even if it wasn't. You learned to handle these little disappointments and setbacks, and in time (such as when you got to be 13) things would then eventually balance out. When you left the Playground at 15 (for cars and girls), you had all the groundwork in place to start the next phase of your life. There is a gaping empty space in that age bracket today, that no computer, Ipod, or video game will ever replace.

 

PageOnelit.com:  What are some of your memories of your childhood playground? Where was it? Or where were they?

Kurt Philip Behm:  My Playground was in Garrett Hill Pa. a small town within an area called Rosemont. Some of my favorite memories are of playing baseball and watching a kid hit a long Fly ball to the outfield.

We all knew we had to get to that ball first before one of our dogs did (most with retriever bloodlines) or we would then spend the next 30 minutes playing the doggie version of 'keep-away,' as the dog would run all over the park not wanting to give back the ball. I also often think back to the basketball court and about how the Big Guys would 'box-out' other Big Guys so a 'Squirt' (little guy) could get off his shot unmolested. We had one guy who was only about 4'8'' tall but if you gave him a little space he could hit his shot 70% of the time. The  playground gave him the chance. Also a favorite was carving every important Playground event into the giant maple tree at the back of the park. This was our 'Wall Street Journal' and those messages are still preserved on that tree today. If it was important, it found it's way onto that tree.

 

PageOnelit.com:  In THE DEATH OF THE PLAYGROUND you say, " Good Guys were created on the playground." Explain.

Kurt Philip Behm: The Playground was a place that had an overriding sense of right and wrong that 'Free-Play' had developed over several generations. It was a place where you could see the basic 'goodness' of human nature come out in someone if they were given a fair chance. After spending 7 or 8 years in the Playground, this in many ways took over your psyche, and you naturally developed into a 'Good Guy' too, and a proud representative of your particular neighborhood. The Playground had its own system of 'natural selection,' and if you didn't have the makings of an eventual Good Guy, it weeded you out early on. Traits like friendliness, honesty, being able to keep a secret, courage, patience, empathy, and teamwork were all specialties  the playground developed.

 

PageOnelit.com:  In THE DEATH OF THE PLAYGROUND you bring up the perspective that adults didn't normally accompany/take their kids to playgrounds whereas now "Soccer Moms" take their kids to games - Explain.

Kurt Philip Behm:  In my era every kid (over the age of 8) once his chores were done headed to the local Playground. Your parents knew you were there and wanted you to be there, but felt no overriding need to be there with you. They had played freely as kids too, and knew 'instinctively' that an important part of your personality and character would be developed there, and that you would learn things by playing freely with other kids that they could never teach you at home. One of the wisest men I ever knew was our family Pediatrician, Dr. Edward Troncellitti. He told me when my oldest was born to "as soon as possible, get her with kids her own age and then let them play." I was unsure of what he meant so he explained that "barring them hurting each other, put them in the playpen together and let them play and interact, and then work out their own problems." This was some of the absolute best advice I ever got. A magic is triggered and comes out from the inside of children when left to play freely together. You can hear it in the infectious laughter when they are lost together in 'Free-Play.'

 

PageOnelit.com:  You write, "The playground found real worth in everyone who played there. Can business today say the same thing?" Explain.

Kurt Philip Behm:   In Business today, it is often the overlooked worker that has the answer. It could be a clerk, assembly line worker, office staff, or maintenance person that has exactly the perspective we need to solve the task at hand. The real problem is, we never ask them. We look right over and around them not realizing how important they are to the overall running of our companies. The Japanese discovered this years ago and now have internal focus groups that try and solve problems collectively, and in doing so bring their companies together.
 

 

PageOnelit.com:  What do you hope to achieve with THE DEATH OF THE PLAYGROUND?

Kurt Philip Behm: I think that before we can really fix something we have to understand first what the problem is, and how we got there. In 'the Death Of The Playground' my main focus was to describe what's been lost (Free-Play) and the long term damaging implications that result from this. Kid's who are raised having their parents do everything for them, then turn into 'adults' who look to their government to do the same thing. I think we all know where that road is leading. We need to re-develop a 'Free-Play' system that will reinvigorate and reawaken that magic inside of our children. The Playgrounds are still physically there, and at the end of the book I suggest ways in which we can bring them back to life.
 

PageOnelit.com:  What was the last book you read?

Kurt Philip Behm: I just finished 'The Making Of A Country Lawyer' by Gerry Spence. I met Gerry when in was in Wyoming years ago, and his book talks about growing up in the aftermath of 'The Depression' and his 'Playground type' experiences growing up in Sheridan Wyoming. He writes with a lucidness and honesty that I really appreciate.

 

PageOnelit.com:  What's next?

Kurt Philip Behm: My second book 'Brotherhood Of The Sword' is at the publishers now, and should be out by Thanksgiving. My 3rd book, a compilation of my 25 years rambling around and through the Rocky Mountain West should be out by next year.

 

PageOnelit.com:  Do you have any hobbies? What are they? How do they enhance your writing?

Kurt Philip Behm:  I have been an avid motorcycle tourer for over 40 years. The time out west has always been a great release mentally, and some of the best writing I've done has happened out there. I also collect western memorabilia and artifacts. In addition my dog 'Colby' and I have a charity that benefits the sick and struggling kids at CHOP (Children's Hospital Of Philadelphia). We walk 8-10 miles every day and try to get people to donate to CHOP based on our mileage. Our website is www.walkingwithcolby.com.