The Stick

Late last week, the National Toy Hall of Fame entered the lowly stick as their newest exhibit. This was particularly timely for us as an example of news imitates life (or is it the other way around?).

T did what he usually does at his brother's soccer game on Saturday - wandered aimlessly around the field. Except this time, he came away with a treasure - the perfect stick.



He embellished the perfect stick with a pirate skull and crossbones just so that nobody would mistake this for an ordinary stick and throw it away or burn it in their fireplace. I had to take a picture of it while he was in the shower, because otherwise it has been in his possession ever since.

For those of you non-violent types out there who tsk tsk the whole gun-thing - I'm betting you don't have small boys. They are indeed a different breed. I learned this when my oldest was about 5. We went to a friend's birthday party in Berkeley (If you don't know how Berkeley is, then never mind. If you do, well then you know what I mean.) in a very non-violent household. No guns, no Nerf, no electronic toys. So what did this group of 8 little boys do? They went into the bedroom, made guns out of Legos and ran through the house shooting each other and falling over in very loud, very dramatic death throes.

I draw the line at mature video games, gory movies and realistic-looking weapons (they do all of those things at their friend's houses). But if a kid is going to make the best gun in the world out of a stick he found at the soccer field, I'm not going to take it away. Plus, the price was right.

On this date: In 1969, Sesame Street debuted.