Toyless
We are refugees from childhood and the gadgets from the past,
for hula hoops are out of date and Play-Doh doesn’t last.
No bean bags soar toward targets. No Pop-Its crack and hiss.
Millions of Wooly Willys will forever miss
their metal filing hairdos and, it’s true, what’s more,
pump-handle tops won’t spin away to whirl across the floor.
Potatoes doomed to peeling and slicing up for fries
miss Mr.Potato Head’s hats and ears and eyes.
Down what timeworn corridors have all our past lives fled?
Where are all the vestiges of playtimes that we led?
How can we track our losses when toy store staffs insist
that the treasures of our past, alas, do not exist?
Davy Crocket Coonskin caps no longer are the rage.
Beanie caps with propellers are not worn at any age.
Peashooters aren’t in evidence. Nor is Silly Putty.
Give a kid a Milking Cow and they’ll think you are nutty.
No slinkies climb down stair steps. No Hungry Hippos snap.
No Cabbage Patch Kids hang around to share a toddler’s nap.
Our childhood pleasures are passé. We may as well admit it.
All the things that we found fun? New kids just do not get it!
For the Sunday Whirl Wordle, prompts for this week are:
target fled millions live crack last refugee corridor gadgets losses staff track
lifelessons - a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown 
I love Slinkys and Silly Putty
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Me, too. I still have a slinky. and the equivalent of silly putty but it isn’t as much fun.
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❤
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Waaaaaah! Now I miss my Etch-a-Sketch! 🥺
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Oh darn!!! I forgot Etch-a-Sketch. How could I?
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Okay, while you’re at it, rhyme “Spirograph”! 🤣
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My giraffe
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Oh, yeah ~ those giraffes! Did you have a giant stuffed snake named “Muffy,” too? (I’m curious to see how far two poets’ childhood parallels go) ☺️
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Jake.
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Oh, you’re good. You’re very good! 👍👏✨
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I miss my slinky and I loved this. Sadly it’s so true…electronics take center stage today. Kids will never know the fun they’ve missed. Thanks for this! Really enjoyed the trip down memory lane. hehe
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Couldn’t resist making those words deal with other than what they obviously do. Just too depressing….
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It so worked! hehe
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If only I could convert the world as easily.
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yes I couldn’t agree more.
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I made sure my grandkids had the toys of my youth. Now that they are older, it’s sadly all about the screen. Great poem and great memories.
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Did they enjoy them at one point, at least?
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They sure did. I collected tons of things from thrift stores. We had about fifty potato heads, a couple of hundred little people, thirty of their houses, tons of their furniture, Lincoln logs, spirograph, Weebles, croquet sets, bocce balls, hula hoops, etc. Then of course lots of new things that were not available at thrift stores. We had Slinkys, play dough purchased for every holiday, silly putty along with a Sunday comic section, kids card games. etc. I kept most of the treasures in the garage in big tubs. The kids would get a tub, dump it on the floor, play for hours, return the tub, and start all over again. Little by little as they outgrew the items, I donated them to preschools. I admit though, I still have a bucket of Little people and Weebles.
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I want you for a grandma. You are probably much younger than me, but …..
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67
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74. Yer a kid.
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Lol
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Being a Nana is much for fun than being a mom. All the spoiling and none of the stress.
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Yes, I’m an auntie and it is the same.
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New generation, new playthings!
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You always put these together beautifully – such rhythm and rhyme
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Thanks, Derrick. I love figuring out the puzzle of rhythm and rhyme.
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Excellent rhymes, Judy! I miss my Slinky and Silly Putty egg!
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