Ageless and Fun
Gardening is also
excavation and treasure hunting. I've unearthed needles, pieces of
glass from broken bottles, and decomposing stuff I can't identify.
My favorite finds are toys, like the plastic piece from a pistol.
Pictured above are my favorites because after a good scrubbing, I
could play with them. The marble reminds me that glass, like the
sharp not-so-fun pieces, don't break down naturally at all.
The two treasures seemed
almost new, making quality toys not just fragile collectables to pass
from one generation to the next. After being underground for years,
they hadn't lost their magic.
The army guy had me
scratching my head to know who he was. So I took him on an adventure
to Wegmans. The toy sparked interest from other writers assembled
for our serious meeting. But no one could give me information about
it, until R. J. (Robert) Repici slid into his seat as the meeting
began. Catching a glimpse of the action figure that still held
center stage on our shared table, Robert said with his usual calm
comportment, “Oh, Sergeant Savage.”
“Robert. You know who
he is?” I asked, excited.
This teacher,
screenwriter and pop culture aficionado pulled up a site on his
computer featuring Sergeant Savage and the Screaming Eagles. Hasbro
had made this line of 3¾ inch G.I.Joe action figures in 1995. “Wow,
thanks Robert. I was wondering who he was,” I said, grateful and
impressed.
At home, I added the
marble to my childhood collection and stationed the sergeant to guard
my dinning room table.
I guess writers never
grow up. Maybe we appreciate toys more as we get older, especially
the playthings that don't age, even after a tough life underground.
And it's finder's keepers when someone else's playthings surface in
my yard.
