Play.

[up148]

Marx wind-up train at 3-4 and then moved to AF around 6. I was lucky to have a grandfather and father who wanted me to play with trains. Although he was not into trains himself my dad built me a nice 4'x12' layout. Basically it was a homasote central (wonder how he knew about using homasote) on redwood supports and just decorated with plasticville buildings. Remember adding real water to my pond and by putting a tin can fairly close and using straws to run water under the layout to the plasticville pond. Learned quickly most glues and paper straws did not hold up well to water. Obviously, played with all the other young children toys too.

BH

[Roy]

...my dad built me a nice 4'x12' layout.

That's a looong layout!

[Rufus T. Firefly]

I had trains and a layout, bookcases full of books........

My parents sold some of my trains when I was off at school or they were stolen by my brother-in-law.....

A lot of my stuff disappeared from my parent's house // estate that I could never ask about.

I saw my sister for the 1st time in close to 30 years last summer. No global warning was evident......

[MurphOnMillerAve]

I had trains and a layout, bookcases full of books........

My parents sold some of my trains when I was off at school or they were stolen by my brother-in-law.....

A lot of my stuff disappeared from my parent's house // estate that I could never ask about.

I saw my sister for the 1st time in close to 30 years last summer. No global warning was evident......

Now, that is a whole bunch of "trailers" for interesting stories right there, Rufus. I'm not making light of what you have said, of course, but you sure have our attention. Would you tell us more?

[Rufus T. Firefly]

I had trains and a layout, bookcases full of books........

My parents sold some of my trains when I was off at school or they were stolen by my brother-in-law.....

A lot of my stuff disappeared from my parent's house // estate that I could never ask about.

I saw my sister for the 1st time in close to 30 years last summer. No global warning was evident......

Now, that is a whole bunch of "trailers" for interesting stories right there, Rufus. I'm not making light of what you have said, of course, but you sure have our attention. Would you tell us more?

In the back of the family workshop I had maybe 4x10 for Lionel and two rather large store display cases full of pre-war sets, some post-war stuff, and 3 sets of standard gauge. Never finished it the layout past operational - off to college, grad school, career stage 1.

When I would come home, things were disappearing, but asking about anything was met with denial by all, or from my sister declaration that I did not live there anymore (so none of it is yours and ours for the taking). I ended up taking the blame for everything negative that happened to her even when I was not even in the same state. When it came to settle the estate, I packed up and left with very little leaving the overwhelming bulk in her possession. I was later informed that she tried to take back the property that was left to me in PA and then she went after all of the family friends and relatives. After that we all walked away.....for close to 30 years.

One of my relatives attempted a reconciliation picnic reunion last year - totally surreal day. A root canal and/or full conscious colonoscopy would have been a better use of my day.

Consequently, I make every effort not to let this be done to or by my own children -- they are "in the loop" on almost everything.

[Seaboard Air Line Fan]

What eventually happened to all those toy-soldiers, Bob D ?

Murph, have no recollection, one day they were gone. Might have given them them to my nephew when he was small.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

What eventually happened to all those toy-soldiers, Bob D ?

Murph, have no recollection, one day they were gone. Might have given them them to my nephew when he was small.

I thought that they might have all marched off on a long expedition,

[Seaboard Air Line Fan]

What eventually happened to all those toy-soldiers, Bob D ?

Murph, have no recollection, one day they were gone. Might have given them them to my nephew when he was small.

I thought that they might have all marched off on a long expedition,

If my men had been a real army I'm afraid the attrition rate would have prevented many long marches involving many troops

[up148]

Murph, have no recollection, one day they were gone. Might have given them them to my nephew when he was small.

I thought that they might have all marched off on a long expedition,

If my men had been a real army I'm afraid the attrition rate would have prevented many long marches involving many troops

Okay, anyone else notice that if you lit a plastic army man, they would continue to burn and you could hold it up in the air and flaming drops of plastic would drop to the ground making a zoop...zoop....zoop sound as they traversed to the ground. Worked with plastic sprues too.

Also, you could take an empty thread spool, install a rubber band and insert a kitchen match in the hole and shoot it at concrete or anything hard enough to make them "pop" and light.

BH

[John Webster]

I was the oldest of eight children; 2 girls, 4 boys and a girl followed me at 2 year intervals. I didn't develop the hand-eye coordination necessary for sports because my extreme nearsightedness wasn't discovered until I was 12.

A lot of my toys were hand me downs from my father or his much older brother so there was some great stuff; enough Skaneateless wooden trains to fill a small bedroom, Lincoln Logs, a tinplate Lionel set that kept being added to, a very fancy 30s Erector set with the electric motor, a Gilbert chemistry set with microscope in a nice wooden cabinet and my Dad's pre-war Schwinn bike. There were also solid wood and plastic model airplanes, tanks and boats and a couple of sheet balsa rubber powered flying models.

When I was 12 we lived briefly in Ravenna, Ohio (pronounced Reevanna). There was a garage bicycle/hobby shop at the end of my paper route. The gentleman who owned it didn't seem to mind my spending time talking to him and I began building stick and tissue model airplanes. When we moved to Cleveland Heights I began competing in local flying model airplane contests. Later in life that got me a job at Grumman-American Aircraft because the guy I interviewed with had flown models in the same competition classes a few years earlier.

Then in high school I discovered furrin' cars and girls.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

That's a treat to read, John Webster, because it, like each of these contributions to the conversation, adds some depth to each person's understanding of the other on this happy li'l forum, in my opinion.

And let me ask you, for now, about one of your details: "furrin cars". Huh? And I'm assuming you are referring just to the cars, not to the girls being "furry" too (!)

P.S. And if Cleveland Heights" is anything like the Shaker Heights, Ohio I had heard about, in the 60's, and drove through while attending college in Ohio, well, then, just WOW!

[up148]

...my dad built me a nice 4'x12' layout.

That's a looong layout!

Yeah, I was very fortunate that he did this for me. I think he wanted to enjoy trains too, but seldom played with them.

BH

[up148]

I was the oldest of eight children; 2 girls, 4 boys and a girl followed me at 2 year intervals. I didn't develop the hand-eye coordination necessary for sports because my extreme nearsightedness wasn't discovered until I was 12.

Same for me, but not discovered until I went for my driver's license and found out I was blind. Had to get glasses and come back and retake the vision test identify signs.

Interesting problems from not seeing.

I always had to sit in the front of the classroom so I could see what the teacher was writing on the board. Wondered how those kids in the back could read it.

My dad pushed us (all 4 of us) into sports (not all bad) and was even the assistant coach on several teams. I had to catch or any other position other kids didn't want. Couldn't see a pitched ball until it was almost on me and most likely the reason I developed very quick reflexes. Batting was a bear, as you can't hit a ball you can't see. And later at 12-13 when others who had been playing positions for years and were getting better, I was relegated to the outfield. But, even there I would hear the crack of the bat and wouldn't see the ball until it was sailing over my head or dropping 100ft in front of me.....easy catches if you can see them. Again, always wondered how the guys in center and left field could start running in the direction of the ball at the crack of the bat. Quit sports then, as even though I was a fast runner and good athlete, I was tired of looking like the doofus I knew I wasn't.

Really pissed me off when I realized how much I missed because I couldn't see. Why didn't an adult notice I couldn't see and ask, why didn't nuns noticed I was always squinting, why didn't schools give eye test then, like they do now? Why didn't I realize I couldn't see what others were seeing and say something?

BH

[MurphOnMillerAve]

BH, When I think of all the compensating and improvising you must have had to do to make up for those vision challenges, it makes me conclude that all of that pressure must have resulted in one enterprising young man and adult. You must be real good at solving problems from available resources, and fast!
Murph

[Seaboard Air Line Fan]

I started wearing glasses at 12 yrs old. Was suppose to wear them all the time but hated them.

First Little League All-Star practice...I was the first batter up, coach gave me the bunt sign. The pitcher, Howard "Pug" Taylor, had a habit of throwing sidearm and often did not know where the ball was going. Pug was 12 and already seemed like he was 6 feet tall.

The helmet I had on had a hole in the front of hit where someone had bashed it in with a bat. I square around to bunt and old Pug tosses his infamous sidearm pitch, right into the hole in the helmet!!! I never saw the pitch.

He said I was still in my crouch as I feel backwards, knocked out by his blazing throw. When I came to, my mom, dad, and the coach were all standing over me. First words out of my moms mouth "Where's his glasses?!?!?!" The next sentence was from the coach "You don't play unless you wear your glasses!!!".

Saw ole Pug the other day, he won 1st place in the Senior Flight of the Portsmouth City Amateur Golf Tournament (est 1926) this past weekend.