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The National Toy Hall of Fame’s Class of 2008 inductees include
(drum roll, please) the baby doll, the skateboard and, are you
ready for this? The stick.
Thus, the stick keeps proud company with another untraditional
toy, the cardboard box, which was inducted into the Hall of Fame
in 2005.
For a “toy” to be inducted, it must meet one or more of the
following criteria;
1) Icon-status (the toy is widely recognized, respected and
remembered)
2) Longevity (The toy is more than a passing fad and has enjoyed
popularity over multiple generations)
3) Discovery (The toy fosters learning, creativity or discovery
through play)
4) Innovation (The toy profoundly changed play or toy design)
I think the stick is a wonderful choice.
In my neighborhood, we had a lot of play time in “the woods” and
sticks were a big part of playtime. Most of the time, we
fashioned rifles or shotguns from a dead branch and played
“cowboys and Indians” or “cops and robbers” for hours on end.
(Please note that none of us turned into serial killers,
either).
The stick was also good for constructing the framework for the
numerous dams and bridges we built in the creek and the stick
was a great probe for those groundhog burrows and ant hills we
uncovered.
We also used the stick for our box traps and our numerous failed
attempts to catch critters with a piece of bait under a box,
propped up by a stick with a string tied to it which we held,
hidden a distance from the scene of the crime. Sometimes, we
used a stick as a bat when we would take batting practice with
hickory nuts or acorns.
The stick also transformed into a sword or rapier as we
occasionally dueled in the woods or played swash-buckling
pirates. (Have you ever had your swash buckled?)
So, kudos to the stick and it’s induction into the National Toy
Hall of Fame. I wholeheartedly endorse the selection. But, I
want to campaign for next year’s untraditional toy inductee; the
golf ball. In my neighborhood, we spent countless hours on hot
summer days, patrolling the paved driveways for carpenter ants.
When they were spotted, we’d drop golf balls on them from eye
level, as though we were ace bombardiers. It took a fair amount
of hand-eye coordination and it kept us out of trouble and
creatively occupied for long periods of time. We even perfected
our bomber sound effects to add to the reality of the moment.
We also used golf balls for an indoor version of basketball
which we played with a coffee can with the bottom cut out,
nailed to a garage wall. We chalked off a lane which you could
not venture into or you’d lose possession and this prevented
boring dunks. We played “golf ball basketball” for hours on end,
generally in the winter months and had courts in the Foster and
berry family garages.
Whaddya think National Toy Hall of Fame?
11/7/08
Anything else we should consider for an official Hoosier meal.
E-mail suggestions to
jfoster@wcsiradio.com.
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