my daughter tried to throw awaymy Hot Wheels™ track the other daybecause she didn’t understandthe joy of seeing a little car landso far from where it used to bethrough wobbly ramps and gravity

my wife is under the impressionthat ‘cause I’m past 57I don’t need a Lite Brite™ nowbecause she hasn’t experienced howthe thrill of pushpin pointillismfulls the heart with wonder. It’s ananalog art-form that occuredbefore I knew what pixels were

Of yo-yos I’ve quite the selectionhalf a century of collectionstill I only know one trickand it’s not great. but I can pickone up and have just as much funas when I played with my first oneStress reduction. Nothing drastic.Piece of string and spinning plastic.

I remember George Shaw saying“we get old when we stop playing”

That is nowhere near my storyI’m not in that categorywooden boats and Tonka diggersdolls that I call “action figures”If a toy is all it takesWho needs more for goodness sakes?

youth is something we createwhen we seek to recreatea good toy brings a quick vacation honest simple meditationwhen overwhelmed by the electronicPlay is my enduring tonic

This holiday, beneath the treemy daughter will receive from mea Hot Wheels™ car: and then, it’s onour living room’s the autobahnmy wife’s gift will be really neatsome black construction paper sheets.might even get my family toattempt a yo-yo trick or two

for even in the coldest weathertoys can bring us all together

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