Pretty sure most of the people reading this right now know that I am a 32-year Nashville native (that’s as long as I’ve been alive, FYI). But, you never know when one of these posts is going to go viral. Seems to happen every once in a while, so it’s probably best I remind everyone of that fact. For natives like myself, every now and then, something will come across the social media feed that hits us and reminds of a time before Nashville was Nashville. Take this nice little tweet about the old Bellevue Mall for instance.
You an OG if you remember this play area in Bellevue Mall.. pic.twitter.com/lLWDLj6Veo
— CashvilleEtc (@cashville_etc) August 13, 2018
Could not put it better than CashvilleEtc did myself. You an OG if you remember that playground. That thing has been gone for what? 30 years now? I don’t know. It feels like it’s been a lifetime since I last visited that place.
But, hell yeah I remember it! I remember being terrified of that playground. Like, everything on that playground was made of vibranium or some shit. If you fell in that tunnel, you were going to have busted and bruised knees for the next week. If you fell and hit your head, it was like taking a Louisville slugger to the side of the dome. So easy to slip off that frog’s tongue, too – just imminent danger no matter where you turn!
And, nothing really did anything. Just big hunks of the densest plastic imaginable. So, really, what’s the difference between climbing on that plastic caterpillar and climbing on a coffee table in the middle of your house? Don’t need to make a trip to Bellevue for that.
Take me to the kid’s castle in Murfreesboro eight days a week over that thing. I mean, R.I.P. and all, but let’s not let our psychological tendency to remember things from the past fondly interfere with what an insult to playgrounds everywhere that thing was.
The coolest part of that playground was the steps. I’d run up and down those steps ALL FUCKIN’ DAY! Regardless, let’s pour one out for the old Bellevue Mall tonight. That place was a real treat, and I used to find some of the coolest wrestling figures there and at the Bellevue Toys R’ Us (also R.I.P.).
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
Check out the SoBros Shop. Subscribe to our Patreon. Give us money for no reason. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @SoBrosNetwork. Listen on SoundCloud. Watch on YouTube.
