Childhood Property

When I was a kid, there were certain items that had special value to me:

First on the list was my blue New York Mets jacket - this was the jacket that I looked forward to wearing every spring and fall (in New York, I had my "spring jackets" and the much heavier "winter jackets," sort of the personal equivelant of installing screen doors in the spring, another traditon for cooler climates.

When I was very young, one of my greatest desires was to get what I called a "Lost in Space" shirt - really, a shirt with a v-neck like the characters in the tv series wore. I thought it was unbelieveably futuristic.

That also brings to mind an incident at an event - maybe a circus - where my father and I passed by a vendor selling a wide variety of novelty hats. I mentioned to my father my desire to have what I called an "F-Troop" hat (F-Troop being television series taking place in civil war/frontier days). To my horror, by father actually returned to the vendor and asked if he had any "F-Troop hats - to which I died of humiliation.

I've mentioned in earlier blogs some of the toys that have had special value: my air bazooka, my suction-cup dart pistol (this resembled, to me, a dart gun used in the James Bond movie, "Diamonds are Forever," and, of course, my greatest pride and joy, my Stingray bike.

I tend to think, despite technology, most kids today will later relate to much the same type of items - clothing they were practically known by, and toys that could take hours, days and months of wear and tear. Video game systems, cell phones, ipods and other technology are cool - but tranistory, and ultimately will likely inspire no more fondness then I might have for an old televsion set or radio.