Subject: a heartwarmer : just imagine
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it ' s summer vacation time and parents will soon be hearing from
their kids that they ' re bored .
one of the biggest regrets we hear from the older generation , is
that kids lack the playful imagination that was common a generation
or two ago .
back in the " olden days " , kids knew how to entertain themselves
with surprisingly little . there was no such thing as playstation .
kids ran outside to play kick - the - can in a game that was shockingly
not organized by adults . they actually did it themselves .
today , mike shares some thoughts about kids and modern
imagination - - or lack thereof . . .
what do you think ?
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just imagine
by michael t . smith
when i married ginny , i gained a new son , daughter and four
grandsons . i became an instant grandpa .
over the july 4 th holiday , i got to meet my new daughter and her
three boys for the first time . it took a day for my new grandsons to
warm up to me .
the first day they stared at me , perhaps wondering what they
were supposed to do with this man , who they were told is " grandpa . "
i waited patiently . i knew boys like to play . they ' d come to me in
their own time .
on day two , the oldest two were doing summersaults over my lap .
the youngest , ben , took a little longer , but yesterday he raced me
across the yard thirty times and won every time .
the weekend brought back memories of my own childhood . we had
such imaginations . in our minds , a tree was a tower to spot
approaching bad guys , a big rock became a mountain , a fallen log a
space ship headed to the stars . we had toys , but we had to use our
imagination , not like the new toys i see my grandkids with .
our toys didn ' t talk , and if they did , you pulled a string to
make it work . we had blocks to build , crayons to create , trucks and
cars to push . they were simple toys that required imagination . i
thought about the toys in my garage , the ones i saved , when my
children outgrew them . they were simple and needed their imagination
to work . mr . potato head allowed them to learn parts of the body and
giggle at the funny face with an ear where its mouth should have been .
i still have an old plastic phone . it has a dial to turn , a
bell that rings when you push a button , and that ' s it . it doesn ' t
talk , squawk , beep or move around the room . it ' s simple and was used
when they played house , nurse , doctor , and secretary .
i have a toy doctor ' s bag , with all the plastic doctor ' s tools .
i remember all the broken bones , cuts , bangs , scratches and aches my
daughter repaired as i lay in her office moaning .
most toys today do it all . we don ' t need imagination - - it
comes in a box . video games that take us into another world or
reality , talking toys , with vocabularies better than most people ,
computerized toys to teach the alphabet . kids sit and have
imagination brought to them . the teaching toys are great , but
children tire of them - - it ' s like being in school .
when my son was young and tired of his toys , he would come to me
and say , " dad , i ' m bored . "
" go find something to do , " i ' d reply .
" i don ' t know what to do . "
" go outside and find a friend . "
" naaa ! i don ' t want to do that . "
" use your imagination . "
" huh ? " he asked .
" well , when i was young . . . " you know the routine .
sports is the same . we ' re entertained for hours watching
someone else have fun doing what they ' re good at . wouldn ' t it be
better to be playing yourself ? if we don ' t like the sports available
to watch , we create new ones . it doesn ' t matter what , people will
pay to see it , because they need to be entertained . i haven ' t heard
of world championship worm digging , but if someone offered a large
cash price , people would buy tickets to scream at the contestants .
i worry . are we becoming a society that needs outside influence
to have fun ?
i think i ' ll go climb a tree .
maybe there ' s a pirate ship on the horizon or someone is
attacking my castle .
just imagine .
- - michael t . smith
michael lives in new jersey with his new wife and son .
from our mailbag :
( in response to last week ' s story , cinderella men )
dear heartwarmers :
last week ' s heartwarming story opened a door to memory lane . i
too , was born in the 30 s and felt some of the poverty of that time .
i remember my mom and dad who never complained of the fatigue that
was so ever present in their lives . we were very fortunate in as
much as we always had plenty of food and warm shelter . we had a
garden and salvaged every edible product available - - even certain
" weeds " that were quite tasty after mother got all the spices in
them . i had several beautiful dresses made from feed sacks that i
wore with pride ! we were very poor , but so rich indeed because we
had love and the knowledge that god was upper most in our lives , and
it taught us lessons that had never been printed in the books . i
deeply appreciate those lessons of long ago because they have taught
me how to handle the tough times we have encountered in this life of
prosperity and promise . thank you again for your lovely story . god
bless .
- -
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