Skip to main content

Perchance to play

I have had a few of you ask "why no posts lately?" It has not been due to lack of ideas, but too many. I was taking my daughter Bailey to school this morning and she made a comment on a rocking horse in a yard that got me thinking of this one. She said "I always wanted one of those". I, not seeing the "those" said -a "A tree?" And she explained that it was an old-fashioned rocking/hobby horse. We discussed rocking horses for a moment and my mind wandered to this blog. (I also want to pay homage and give kudos to all those that have done a "bit" on this subject. I have heard some, but these thoughts are mine.) Bailey was talking about the rocking horses with the four springs that suspend the horse from a frame. I don't think they make those any more. I KNOW they don't make them like when I was a kid. I remember one such horse (and I honestly do not remember whether it was ours or a friends) that was great fun. However, it was a death trap. The springs were like something off of an old front-end loader, or as I told Bailey a '59 Buick. And hence this blog. Toys now are all about safety. Look at the lead paint thing and Chinese toys. Hey, we had toys painted with radium! Seriously, glow in the dark stuff was commonly covered in radium. IT GLOWED! Of course some of the kids did also after playing with them. I scoff at lead paint. We poured lead paint over our toys prior to putting them in infant's mouths. .melborp on ,semitemos sdrawkcab gnittirw rof tpecxE The rocking horse I remember had those springs on each corner waiting like sunning crocodiles for a body part to get too close. These springs could take a toe without a break in the rocking motion. The ride was wonderful, but getting on or off was a tremendous challenge. Of course, our goal in most cases was to get the other person to get tangled up in the springs as often as possible. I will say that the closest I have ever come to an Olympic style dismount was in getting off that horse. ("I don't know Bobby, I think he stuck the landing!") To get a fold of skin stuck in those springs was to experience a small sample of hell itself. (Leave me, save yourself!) We had other cool toys to play with and on. I won't even go to the playground where monkey bars were set in concrete over packed earth. You were very motivated to finish your flip. If you fell you risked crushed bones. A good playground was measured by the height of the slide. Some were pure monoliths rising above the concrete, asphalt, and packed earth like a beacon. (maybe later) I will mention weapons. For anyone my age or close, to walk down the toy aisle and see what they have done with toys guns is alarming and disappointing. All of them look extremely fake with the orange plastic ends. Our guns looked real! They all shot something. You can shoot a NERF arrow now, but how about a projectile that could put out an eye? We were all about the eye. The first time you heard that mom say "Be careful, don't shoot at the head. You could put out an eye" was like releasing the hounds. The hunt was on. You couldn't have made an eye shot more appealing if you had painted a target around it. For years, every Monday, all boys would have red spots all over their faces. (What's wrong Scott, you feel OK. Do you have a fever?) An eye shot was the culmination of a great war game. The only thing to compare was a groin shot, but I won't elaborate. (just sufface to say, it is a wonder my generation has progeny) Tool sets. I will admit there were plastic toys (maybe with a little radium on them if they were really cool); but we had METAL tools. We had hammers that would drive a nail or split a skull. Pliers that would grab (insert your own groin reference here) and twist like an alien abduction. Bob the Builder is good, but you can't use a three inch plastic screwdriver as much of a weapon. We had "my first crowbar" and "Sammy's power saw" to play with. (OK, I am embelishing now). You get the idea. I could go on, but...... I wonder if there are any '59 Buick springs anywhere. I may build Bailey that rocking horse. Later.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Oh how toys have changed. Even things like the trampoline. Now there are nets that go around them to keep kids from falling off. And helmets for bicycles are required by law! Crazy how parents now feel they should protect their kids even more.
I inherited that rocking horse. By the time it came to me, the springs had rusted and most of the lead paint had peeled off. elkmwlkjmlkjfk;sdfjkf;sldk
Mom left it on the side porch so more rain could hit it and rust it a little more.

Popular posts from this blog

Thoughts and Ideas for 2024

 If you are truly pressed for time, just read the bold, italicized, and underlined sentences. That won't take you long at all! Another year has passed and if you are reading this, a new one is getting ready to start (or has started) for you. New Year’s celebrations are a time for reflection on what has happened and also a chance to start anew. New Year’s resolutions are a manifestation of this. Weight loss plans, gym proprietors, exercise equipment makers, and others know this. If you have watched any TV, gone online, or read any magazines or newspapers you know that the people that make their living selling and signing people up for those things are hitting it hard. We like new beginnings and the chance to reset and set new goals. Losing weight, stopping smoking, cut back or stopping drinking, and other things a lot of folks see as improvement are at the forefront of our collective thoughts and efforts this time of year. Although not a real advocate of New Year’s resolutions, I

Houston (and Miami, L.A., New York City, Winston-Salem, etc), we have a problem!

People, we have a real problem with our government. I can see a lot of you clicking away - "He's getting political again". BUT WAIT - READ ON. This not specifically a political problem, at least not a political problem specific to one party. We have a systemic and pervasive problem with our elected "representatives" in government. It affects the government at all levels. It is much more of a problem as you get farther away from the voters - ie Washington vs your town hall, but it is a problem everywhere.  It is to the point now that if you are a member of one party, anything a member of the other party comes up with of any significance is said to be wrong. I know this is a bit of an overstatement; but I submit, not much of one. There are still a few important issues that are worked on in a bipartisan manner, but not many and usually not by the "leadership" of the parties. As I said above, this is not a Republican problem nor a Democrat problem. Both

Take two and call the ambulance in the morning

Here we go. I have been working on this one for a long time. I want to start by letting any of you that do not know me (and reminding those that do) - I am NOT a doctor. I have no formal medical training at all. What is listed here is documented reality and my evaluations of those facts.   I have been doing a LOT of studying and reading about what I now believe to be one of the biggest medical hoaxes in human history - the demonization of cholesterol and fats. First, some background. The cholesterol as killer philosophy is relatively new. However, the entire premise is flawed. The thought that cholesterol is bad was taken from the fact that plaque buildup in artery walls contains high amounts of cholesterol. The problem is, cholesterol is there because that is one of it's jobs. Finding cholesterol in arteries (BTW, finding plaque buildups in veins does not happen, more in a bit) and saying it causes the blockages and disease is like noting that every time you see a car wreck