Just Can't Beat It...!

When it comes to toys, you can't beat it.

The stick was inducted Thursday into the Toy Hall of Fame at the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, N.Y. Curators praised the stick's ability to capture a child's imagination, as well as its all-purpose and no-cost qualities. Another one of the recent inductees into the Toy Hall of Fame was the empty cardboard box.

What kid hasn't played with a stick or an empty cardboard box in their lifetime? To me, it's kind of refreshing in this time of so much turmoil and such in the world to find a story like this in the news. I'm only sorry that this type of story doesn't often find it's way to the front page of the paper, instead of being buried somewhere in the back.

As a child growing up in mostly rural areas, I spent many a fun day playing with a stick. I even had a favorite stick, but many times it changed because of my favorite getting broken or carried off by the dog. It was everything from a sword to a gun, the choice being only limited by my imagine or character portrayal at the time.

It was much the same with cardboard boxes. With four of us at home (I had three sisters) we found at least a hundred uses from any good size cardboard box, the only limitations came from who had control of the box at the time. Being outnumbered 3 to 1, I often had to wait my turn to convert what was a playhouse just a few moments before into a fort or medieval stronghold. Somehow, we all managed to get our fair share of play time out of that old box.

I wonder if we shouldn't set up a summer camp for kids somewhere in the country, where store bought toys and electronics were banned for a couple of weeks, a place where kids would be forced to become creative and use their imagination to build their playthings. The counselors would have to be folks that grew up in the ancient times before computers, MP3s, color televisions, dvds, and the such. I wonder who would enjoy the camp the most?

I'm reminded of the old saying here that "growing older is mandatory, growing up is not!" That, my friends, sums me up in a nutshell! May I always be able to call on the inner "child" in me to help me get through the day! Can't think of a better way to solve many problems...I really can't!

Now what do you say to a fresh cup of coffee? Or would you rather have some hot chocolate? Your choice, my friend...!