Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Ode to a Trapper Keeper

All of this back to school business always makes me sentimental so I was telling Little Emmer about the coolest, most awesome, greatest invention school supplies ever birthed. No not the pen that had all those colors you could click and change ink ( but that was pretty awesome ) - I'm talking about the Trapper Keeper. I told her all about the various designs and pictures you could choose from. Then if you were a serious student how you got the one with the double closure. And the absolute best part was the sound. I mean come on - if you don't just get chill bumps thinking about that awesome Velcro sound - you my friend are not my friend. ( or you didn't have the pleasure of going to school in the late 1980's).  Little Emmer still didn't get it so I had to compare it to the pitiful "binders" they have now. Then she got interested. So of course we google it. Couple of keystrokes - I was right back in 1988 -4th grade. Mötley Crüe was singing about stuff I didn't understand but I still liked the sound. Cheerleaders were my idol. And my Trapper Keeper was keeping organized and looking good. The world was good place. I can smell gym now. Ahhhh!! Still smells like feet. 
So of course her next question was - "Mom do they still make them?" Well let's just see. What did we do before Google? We lied. Or guessed. Or lived in world shrouded in sweet mysteries. But not today - today I am going to finally know if my old buddy, my old pal, Trapper Keeper (preferably a Lisa Franks design) is still made. And in less than 2.345688 seconds - I knew. It is!!! It's a miracle!!! I did a little inappropriate dance. But hey it's not everyday you can share something from your childhood with your own flesh and blood!! Here we come TK. We will just visit this website and what the what!? What is thing calling itself a Trapper Keeper? It has the words "Trapper Keeper" on it but that's the only thing I see familiar. Where is the shiny smooth plastic that protected my horse running through a green pasture, or my rainbow raining hearts down into fluffy clouds or those huge lips?? Where is the VELCRO for goodness sake? This is a mockery. This is a rip off ! This is a tragedy. 
We watched in the mirror as we grew up. We sadly watch as our children grow up. But never did think in a million years that my beloved Trapper Keeper would grow up. And unfortunately he grew up to be a responsible,boring, 58 year old man. He traded in his see through  plastic for some practical stain resistant nylon. He traded his fancy prints out for a more streamlined (*boring) one color that matches black. And sadly, he even gave up his Velcro for a zipper. Maybe a snap. I don't know I was too hurt to look. 

So my point is - some things  in the past were actually better in the past.  Youth is fleeting. We all grow up. And sometimes it sucks. 

Til tomorrow ! 


Monday, July 7, 2014

The Fabric of America

All over America last weekend there were huge parties with expensive decorations, long parades with elegant floats, and extravagant pyrotechnic shows put on by some of the best in the business.  I'm sure millions of Americans came and celebrated by some stranger they had never seen and will more than likely never see again.  I'm sure that the financial burden of the whole event was just a drop in the bucket to whomever or whatever corporate conglomerate sponsored the entire event.
I'd even bet everyone had a good time that went. But..... There's just something sweet and nostalgic about a small town's Independence Day celebration. Isn't that where it all started? From the small settling colonies to the small towns in the Midwest, America started small. It wasn't until we decided that small wasn't good enough anymore that we went big and then super size.  Last Friday night I attended my little tiny hometown Fourth of July celebration and I'll just say that it rivaled any show around.  Maybe it was just my sentimental attachment to my home or maybe it was the drifting laughter of the children sliding down slippery slides reminding me of everything that summer is about, or maybe it was the smell of hamburgers and hotdogs  wafting through out the park that symbolized the camaraderie of the men cooking , but I do believe that the gathering had some kind of special meaning.  Perhaps it was the reflection of the spectacular fireworks show in my own children's eyes and hearing the sweet oohing and ahhing that made the experience even more meaningful to me.  It meant that even though we go through each day knowing that life is hard and even though we don't know where this country is headed, our little town still knows what patriotism is and what being an American means. It means that in God we trust, in family we love, in friends we laugh and in neighbors we celebrate.  This is a great nation, no one needs to tell us that, but sometimes we need to be reminded that the very flag that waves over us is made up of single threads.  Those threads, my friends, are our small towns.  They are the fabric of our nation.  These small towns have treasures all in them if you look closely.  Or maybe you'll see one burst into the air on a hot summer night from the middle of a ball park.

Good job my little town!! My heart is so proud and full... Red, white, blue .... and a little maroon.
Can't wait to see what you do next year!

        




Til Tomorrow!