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Picture of the day -
December 18, 2006
"Little Red Wagon"
Time marches on, and each succeeding generation of youngsters
grows up playing with new types of toys, items that will ultimately
help define their childhood years. Toys get more complicated and
technologically advanced all the time, and so do the kids that use
them.
Back when my mom and dad were youngsters, most of the families in
the southern Appalachians had little, if any
extra cash to spend on "store-bought" toys. In those days, little boys
had to make do with yo-yo's, slingshots, whistles, bows and arrows
and other simple toys that could be whittled or hand-carved out of wood.
And they were glad to get them because that's what most little boys
got back then.
Of course it was the same for little girls as well. Dolls were
handcrafted out of scrap material and any "accessories" were usually
whatever an active imagination could come up with. And they sure did
have active imaginations!
My grandparents couldn't simply jump in their cars and run to
Wal-Mart or Toys-R-Us and buy mom and dad and their
numerous brothers
and sisters a pile of cheap Chinese-made toys because those types of
stores didn't exist - and they didn't own cars! Besides, their
pockets were far too empty to patronize a toy store even if they
could have walked inside one. So their kids got what they got, and
they were happy with them.
Things were a little better for my generation. Mom and dad still
didn't have much extra money to spend on toys, but they did have a
little. Being the youngest child, I received more "store-bought"
toys than any of my siblings, but compared to today's kids I still
didn't get all that many. Most of the packages I found waiting under
the Christmas tree contained shoes, clothes and other necessities,
and the few toys I unwrapped were simple and inexpensive items such
as a "stopper gun", a slinky or a set of plastic "army men". And I
loved them all!
Well, one year mom and dad were able to give me the greatest gift a
little boy could ever receive (or so I thought at the time). I
jumped out of bed that Christmas morning, and parked under the
Christmas tree was a shiny red Radio Flyer wagon - complete
with side boards! The way it shined and reflected the bright colors from the Christmas tree lights literally took my breath
away. It was quite simply the prettiest thing I had ever seen. In
fact, that wagon
was even more beautiful than the more expensive models I had been
drooling over at the Western Auto store for the past year. And
according to the label taped to its "tongue", it was mine!
Needless to say, I wore that little red wagon out! I used it to haul
everything from Chris and Lisa (my oldest niece and nephew) to dogs
and cats and rocks. I even used it to haul firewood from the barn to
the house all winter making a difficult chore a lot easier. It wasn't long before that shiny red wagon
became dirty and dull, and rust soon began to cover the areas where the
paint had been worn away. But I never lost my love for that little
red wagon...
You see, that wonderful Radio Flyer was the first expensive toy
that mom and dad were ever able to buy for me, and the light in
their eyes as they watched me pull it around the living room floor
that Christmas morning was a thousand times brighter than the
brightest reflection from the wagon. They loved me, and they loved
being able to give me the greatest gift a little boy could ever
receive. On that morning, I did indeed receive the greatest gift a
little boy could receive, but now I realize that it wasn't the
wagon.
About the photo: Yesterday afternoon Cheria and I enjoyed a
wonderful Sunday dinner in her Aunt Rebecca's home, and while we
were there we took a walk up to the "old home place". Scattered
around the remains of Rebecca and Z.R.'s old house were quite a few
relics that had been left behind many years ago, and one of them was
the rusty old wagon featured in today's picture. As I snapped off a
few photos, memories of my own little red wagon came to mind. I
just wonder if one of Rebecca's kids woke up one Christmas morning
and found that wagon sitting under their Christmas
tree...
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