“Kids don’t play with the same toys as they did when I was a child,” dad said last night as he crossed his legs and scanned the new digital channels on my TV. He was especially interested in the BBC nightly news. “You all had Nintendo's and I had Mexican jumping beans to keep me preoccupied.”
I laughed whole heartedly. For some reason, this just stuck me as so funny.
“I would get tired of watching my beans twitch and jerk and then I would go out to play in the yard.”
“Now you are going to tell me you also walked to school in three feet of snow,” I replied with that old and stale cliché.
“You know what my favorite summer toy was?” dad said. “I used to catch a June bug and tie a string to it’s hind leg and then it would fly around tethered to my thread. It was a poor boy’s toy helicopter.”
I smiled and leaned back in my chair. I love hearing stories of dad’s childhood. It seemed like such a simpler and kinder time of life. Dad went on to regale me in tales of all his alcoholic uncles. They were funny, yet so sad at the same time. I listened intently, nodding my head when I had done something similar. I love my father dearly and we had a good time last night during my medication ritual.
5 comments:
Nothing like sharing family stories. It's a truly golden moment for you both.
Hello,
I've been a reader for awhile but haven't commented before. I love reading your stories. I came across this website today for photo-editing and it reminded me of something you said awhile back about photoshop alternatives. http://www.photoshop.com/
i always enjoy what you share. it is neat to hear your fathers stories. i hope that you have a good evening. i am wondering if you went to walmart with your mom today. liz
I had Mexican jumping beans. We got them at Roses. I had a nostalgia dump when we took our first vacation up in the N. Georgia mountains. They still have a Roses up there around Blairsville.
And the June Bug? My mom used to tie them up for me. I can't believe I used to touch bugs. :p
Of course mom and I used to fight over who was going to play Nintendo next.
I'm glad y'all had a good talk. And you're making me want to get expanded basic again just so I can have all the different discovery networks and the BBC.
Dad is right, that is what I did as a child too. I think the beans are way cooler than Nintendo and so is playing in the yard. Kids don't know how to have fun anymore with their faces buried in those video games.
Post a Comment