Whew! Nate is at soccer practice, so I am seeking refuge in a Beans & Brews. I buy a small Chai and use the Internet. At home, we have had slow access or NO access for over a month. It's so frustrating, especially now when we are trying to make travel plans and all the rest. There is only one provider that can serve households in the Canyon, and we were really happy with our service. But they decommissioned a tower, and unfortunately, it is the only tower with a sight-line to our house. They keep promising that they are going to commission a new tower that will work for us. Uh, in a few weeks. But, like, they aren't sure? We would drop them and get a different provider, if there were another option.
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Well, here I am, so I should stop whining and start writing. I bought air tickets to Wisconsin today. In August, my kids and Chuck's son will fly to Madison, and we will meet them there. We will drive out a couple of days ahead. This will accommodate their busy teenage schedules, spare them the long car trip and allow Chuck and me to take the itty-bitty sailboat. You know what this means... the wedding is going to happen! I have just spent a THOUSAND DOLLARS! For a cheap-skate like me, THAT'S commitment.
We watched the movie "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" the other night. Now Chuck will occasionally hold me as we drift off to sleep and say, "The asteroid is coming. What are you going to tell me?" Sometimes I have things I want to tell him. Mostly, though, I know the truth: I have told him everything in my heart already. If the asteroid comes, I just want to hold him and stroke his hair. That will be good enough.
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Last Friday, I started writing about my past a little. Here is my topic for today.
What toys and games do you remember from your childhood?
I had an imagination and loved role playing. When I was in early grade school, we played "Emergency" in the school yard. If you are American and in your 40s, you may remember this TV show. There were these two cute paramedics... remember? At any rate, the locust tree was the hospital. Kids would pretend to be in horrific accidents and others of us would be ambulances, running out from under the tree to bring them in for treatment.
Dad made up a lot of role-play games: cowgirl-rides-the-bucking-bronco (I broke my arm playing that game, though; so that was the end of that); lion tamer; child-eating shark.
I grew up in a neighborhood that was mostly boys; so we did a lot of fort-building, baseball, touch football, bike riding... My brother and I had a tree house.
We had a kite. Jolly Green Giant. I grew up in a pea-packing town. I don't know where my dad got the Jolly Green Giant kite, but it flew ridiculously high. It also came with a Little Green Sprout. Remember the Little Green Sprout? Jolly Green Giant's little sidekick! He was a plastic dude with a parachute. Once the kite was in the air, we hooked Little Green Sprout to the kite string. He would slide up, up, up the string. When he reached the kite, he would release and parachute to the ground. "HO, HO, HO! Green Giant!"
I had a doll named Emily Elizabeth. My mom thought that was an interesting coincidence, as she had almost named ME Emily Elizabeth but opted for Katherine at the last minute. Emily Elizabeth had a molded plastic head rather than hair. And after a while, her eyeballs got corroded. Looking back, I wonder: what were they made of?
I LOVED books! I was a very early reader who showed my love in the early years with crayons. Most of my favorite books still bear the scribble marks.
Almost time for me to go and pick up Nate and head back to the web-less Canyon. Bo-hoo.
How about you? What were your favorite toys and games?
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