By ED HUNGNESS
Local columnist
November 30, 2008 12:00 am Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday, is over. Of course I ate too much turkey and really enjoyed that pumpkin pie with the scoop of ice cream on top. I wonder if there is a correlation between my food consumption and the new notch that I am breaking in on my leather belt. Oh well, it is a once-a-year extravagance that I believe is intended to strengthen our resolve for what we are about to endure. Yes, it's time to get on with the Christmas shopping. Now I don't consider myself a Scrooge, but I wouldn't say that shopping is one of my favorite things to do. That is putting it mildly. I admit it: I hate to shop. Recently, I was working my way through the Sunday paper and came upon a brochure from a retail establishment that specializes in toys. I marveled at what I found on the 79 pages in this booklet. If a child had one of everything found within, I am estimating that he would first have to request a pole barn from Santa just to store the loot. As I thumbed through the catalog, I marveled at the quantity, complexity, sophistication and cost of many of the items. It was rather overwhelming and, in a way, I feel a little sorry for all the young parents out there who will be making these buying decisions over the next few weeks. I threw another log on the fire and took a sip from my mug of steaming hot chocolate. While staring into the fire, I began to think about my childhood days and of Christmases past. My thoughts were of presents received and permanently etched into my memory bank. Toys, back in the '50s, were well appreciated at the time but were pretty simple compared to what the kids have available to them now. Some of what excited us then remains available today. I think some are purchased by nostalgic grandparents who think their grandchild's wish list is surely incomplete. Can you imagine any kid today telling Santa that all he wants for Christmas is a Slinky? A Slinky, you might recall, was a coiled metal spring-type affair with which you could do two things. It would flip-flop-walk down a set of stairs or could be shuffled back and forth between one hand and the other. That was it. Fascinating! Then there were Lincoln Logs. I liked my Lincoln Log set. It came in a tall, round cardboard can with a metal screw-on top. On the can were pictures of log cabins, army forts, barns and barnyards. The pictures looked great and there was even a booklet showing how to proceed with their construction. I could imagine building all of them on the living room floor, right next to the Christmas tree. There was only one problem: There were only enough pieces in the can to build one log cabin. What happened to the fort? What happened to the barn? Were any of you lucky enough to have an Erector Set? I never got one. Every year I hoped to get an Erector Set. I could picture that heavy duty, red metal box. It would be filled with nuts and bolts, metal girders, a little screwdriver and pliers. If I got the deluxe set it would contain a miniature electric motor, a set of wheels, belts and pulleys with which I could build endless bridges, cars and windmills. Well, it never happened. I came to the conclusion that maybe it was just the rich kids who got Erector Sets from Santa and I bet some of them grew up to become engineers. All wasn't lost. While visions of Erector Sets were dancing through my head, my parents were out buying me Mr. Potato Head. Mr. Potato Head is still available today, although slightly modified over the years. We actually had fun with the set and used many a potato demonstrating creativity to our loving parents. Mr. Potato Head has the distinction of being the first toy to be advertised on TV. Over the years, his parts have become larger so our little darlings won't choke on them. When the anti-smoking campaign took hold, they took away Mr. Potato Head's pipe. He gave up smoking and it was best for him, although I always liked his pipe. I also want to talk about Pick-up Sticks, the View Master and a Duncan yo-yo with rhinestones that I received one year; but I guess that story will have to wait for another day. I hope you find all the gifts on your shopping list, try to have a fun time and enjoy a very Merry Christmas with your family and friends. Ed Hungness and his wife owned their cottage on Fife Lake for six years before moving there after his retirement in 2005. His writing draws from life experiences and a love for the outdoors and northern Michigan. He can be reached at edhungness@yahoo.com or care of the Record-Eagle.
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Ed Hungness