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Well, happy Halloween, if you're one who observes this particular event. I do get the feeling though that it has been commandeered by commercial interests to the extent that it gets a smaller version of the same buildup and saturation in the media that Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter et. al. get on a big-time basis. We're far enough out in the hinterland that we probably won't see any little faces at the door, especially as its raining almost biblically again here at the moment and for the next 24 hours at least.
Well it's clear that you had a lot more fun during your formative years with vinegar than I did. I would have to have purloined it from the kitchen, along with the baking soda, etc., if I had wanted to pull off some of those stunts. Mom did lotsa baking and such and there wasn't a budget to cover foodstuffs for what would have been viewed as frivolous purposes.
I wasn't deprived of chances for hands on learning as a kid, to be sure, but with two sisters, one older and one younger, who were Olympic calibre whistle-blowers and could have doubled as Cinderella's stepsisters (as far as the pre-teen me was concerned) , I just couldn't pull a raid on the kitchen with any reasonable chance for success. At that young age I had nothing to offer them as hush money either.
In lieu of foodstuffs to learn and play with my dad saw to it that my older brother and I had tools, though. We had been inculcated with a love for and respect for the workshop since the beginning. I didn't think we ever saw any kind of tradespeople around our home because dad did it all himself and inspired us to do likewise. If we got a bike, it would have been a used one, usually obtained at the once a year police auction. And if it broke we were without wheels unless we fixed it ourselves. Try convincing some of todays helicopter parents that this should be the way things go with their young ones.
I do remember one pivotal event in that regard especially. At the age of eight I had my sights set (pun intended) on getting a telescope for either my birthday or Christmas. A good telescope was simply beyond the budget of a family with a stay-at-home mom, four kids and a dad who was a jeweller and watchmaker. What I got instead was a "meccano" set. I was initially very miffed and disappointed but as time went on and the set was augmented by other sets it became the go to toy for this boy hands down. Constructing things with nuts and bolts and wrenches and screwdrivers had more sheer visceral appeal than slapping lego bricks together. I wish I'd kept the whole setup for my kids because, when the time came to consider getting some for them, Meccano had become a carriage trade level toy and cost a king's ransom - more than a young teacher family with a double digit mortgage could justify at the time.
Never did try the sleeveless sweater, shorts, long socks and oxfords look of the proper young gents on the cover though. Cheerio lads!
And I could, under the right conditions, still get a pretty good vista on the moons surface with the air force binoculars my dad brought back with him from his time in the service of his country.
I'll be most curious in the coming months, Carolyn, to see what you discover in your academic pursuit of the wired generation. Actually, it's headed more towards being the wireless generation, wouldn't you say?
To the cave thenceforth. I just knew I was way off on your last one, and you were dead on with mine. I will bet it was the " fuzzy" clue that broke it open, too. I'm gonna guess that this time you are riddling about eye drops.
So here's the next one from Canada to put on the block .
Over half a hundred members in my entertaining crew
Blue bloods and commoners
Occasionally two funny guys who may get wild
Don
All images sourced from Google Images
Fig. 1 - webclipart.about.com
Fig. 2 - studentweb.cortland.edu
Fig. 3 - philbipro.BlogSpot.com
Fig. 4 - aburkitt.net
Fig. 5 - community.sprint.com
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