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| << July02, 2006 - Hearts and Humor - Kick Up Your Heels |
July11, 2006 - Hearts and Humor - Hang On >> |
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Hi, everyone. For those in the USA, I pray you had a wonderful "July 4TH" holiday. For those in Canada, I pray you had a wonderful "Canada Day." Tonight is repeat night. This story was written a year ago. Last year, Ginny and I went to Oklahoma to bring her daughter and her three grandsons back to Jersey to live with us. It's been a tough year. We had a lot of adjusting to do. In a few weeks, those that were a pain, have become part of my life, and will be leaving for a new future. I didn't know they would become such a part of my life. I fought it tooth-and-nail. Now, I am going to miss them. This story is about about when I first met them and the thoughts I had at that time. Just Imagine When I married Ginny, I gained a new son, daughter and three grandsons. I became an instant grandpa. Over the July 4th Holiday, I got to meet my new daughter and her three boys for the first time. It took a day for my new grandsons to warm up to me. The first day they stared at me, wondering what they were suppose to do with this man, who they were told is "grandpa." I waited patiently. I knew boys like to play. They'd come to me in their own time. On the second day, the oldest two were doing summersaults over my lap. The youngest, Ben, took a little longer, but yesterday he raced me across the yard thirty times and won every time. The weekend brought back memories of my own childhood. We had such imaginations. In our minds: a tree was a tower to spot approaching enemies; a big rock became mountain; a fallen log was a space ship, headed to the stars. We had toys, but we had to use our minds, not like the new toys I see my grandkids with. Our toys didn't talk. If they did, you pulled a string to make it work. We had blocks to build, crayons to create, and trucks and cars to push. They were simple toys that required imagination. I thought about the toys in my garage, the ones my children outgrew. They are simple and need imagination to work. "Mr. Potato Head" allowed them to learn parts of the body and giggle at the funny face with an ear where it's mouth should have been. I still have an old plastic phone. It has a dial to turn, a bell that rings when you push a button, and that's it. It doesn't talk, squawk, beep or move around the room. It's simple and was used when they played house, nurse, doctor, and secretary. I have a toy doctor's bag, with all the plastic doctor's tools. I remember all the broken bones, cuts, bangs, scratches and aches my daughter repaired, as I lay in her office moaning. Most toys today do it all. We don't need imagination. It comes in a box. There are videogames that take us into other worlds. There are talking toys, with vocabularies better than most people. They have computerized toys to teach the alphabet. Kids sit and have imagination brought to them. The teaching toys are great, but children tire of them. It's like being in school. When my son was young and tired of his toys, he would come to me, "Dad, I'm bored." "Go find something to do." I'd reply. "I don't know what to do." "Go outside and find a friend." "Naaa! I don't want to do that." "Use your imagination." "Huh?" What do you mean?" he asked. "Well, when I was young......" You know the routine. Sports is the same. We're entertained for hours, watching someone else have fun, doing what they are good at. Wouldn't it be better to be playing yourself? If we don't like the sports available to watch, we create new ones. It doesn't matter what, people will pay to see it, because they need to be entertained. I haven't heard of world championship worm digging, but if someone offered a large cash price, people would buy tickets to scream at the contestants. I worry. Are we becoming a society that needs outside influence to have fun? I think I'll go climb a tree. Maybe there's pirate ship on the horizon or someone is attacking my castle. Just imagine! Michael T. Smith I love your comments and include a few every week. Send them to mtsmith@qwestonline.com You can read more of my stories by going to: http://subs.zinester.com/86758/ To sign up to my twice weekly post: http://subs.zinester.com/86758/ |
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| << July02, 2006 - Hearts and Humor - Kick Up Your Heels |
July11, 2006 - Hearts and Humor - Hang On >> |
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