-
Butch Furse
Recently heard an example of “Safety First” and why we love children. Here’s a report of a summer evening happening while a parent was driving with her three young children when a woman in a convertible ahead of the family stood up and waved. She was stark naked!
As the parent was reeling from shock, she heard her 5-year-old shout from the back seat, “Mom, that lady isn’t wearing a seatbelt!”
***
As we get older we have a frequent wish that continues to repeat itself at an annual rate. The wish? “I wish I was a kid again,” and we have a variety of reasons.
Achy, stiff joints are what all of us oldsters experience more frequently. Then there is the collapse of a firm body, expanded waistline, declining eyesight and hearing. Nearly all aging physical changes of the old body can make us wish were kids again.
But in our case, there’s another reason we get to enjoy wanting to be a kid again every year. That’s the arrival of Christmas toy catalogs showing all the “fun stuff’” from toys, electronics and sports gear. Even those pages of Game Boy games have caught our interest even though we don’t understand and trigger the wish that we had the ability to play.
We know we’re too old for toys. We disassembled our old Lionel train sets and put them in storage several years ago. We take a sneak peek in those boxes every few years just to make sure they are “aging well.” Maybe this year we might give in and put a train set under the Christmas tree. After all, it may be my only chance to fulfill the wish to be a kid again.
***
An observation: Over the past decade or so, it has become evident economics is the driving force of government and political policies. Now, we have backed ourselves into a corner and are busy selling out our future because of self-centered interests.
***
Don’t plan on seeing lots of witches flying through the skies this Halloween. It’s been reported if witches came back they could flourish in some parts of the country as much as they ever did. According to our Betterhalf who questioned, “But they would find it a little awkward getting about on a vacuum cleaner, wouldn’t they?”
RL Furse is publisher emeritus of the News-Register
