The Silver Bloggers Chronicles #12. Toys

My fascination must have been immense when, the day after Christmas Eve, a shiny tricycle appeared next to my bed. It was the gift that Baby Jesus had left me that year.

I must have been about three or four years old at the time. I don't remember any other toys from before, which I undoubtedly had, but from that early childhood, the tricycle was the one that marked a before and after.

Riding the tricycle meant something else entirely; it was the thrill of feeling like I could challenge the wind. Riding at the maximum speed my little legs allowed, the feeling of the cold wind touching my cheeks was truly wonderful.

One of the things I also really liked about the tricycle was that I could carry a passenger on the back. It was usually one of my cousins. She would stand up and hold on tight to my waist, rubbing her cheek against mine and encouraging me to go faster and faster. My cousin was actually much more daring than I was.

Sometimes we would get excited on a small hill where, when we reached the bottom, we would push the tricycle with our hands, get on and ride at full speed, praying to God that we wouldn't crash into a wall or a tree because the tricycle had no brakes; it was designed to ride at low speed. Fortunately, we never had any accidents to regret.

Later, when I was a little older, I started playing with traditional toys. First, it was marbles. I loved the colors of those little glass spheres.

Since my mother wouldn't let us go out on the street, she invited the neighborhood children to come to our house to play with us. She always offered them cookies, soft drinks, and cakes. Those children were delighted to come, and I imagine they were looking forward to the moment when my mother would invite them to play with her two little ones.

They were all very experienced in the art of playing marbles, and it was almost impossible to beat them at any of the game's variations.

However, even though they always beat us, they also taught us some tricks to practice on the dirt part of the yard.

My second brother and I spent long hours playing together, hoping to beat the neighborhood boys someday. We never did, but we did manage to win a few games against the school kids, whose mothers also imposed the same restrictions as ours and didn't let them be on the street playing with the other children.

After marbles came spinning tops, which were really difficult. It took me many hours of practice to get the top to spin on the ground. We almost never threw it on the concrete patio because it made small holes in the floor.

I must have been very excited the first time I managed to throw the string at just the right speed to make the top spin, and I felt even more excited on the fabulous day when I managed to pick it up from the ground and make it dance in my hand. All those small achievements were undoubtedly the result of a lot of patience and long hours of practice.

Around that time, it was also time for board games. First, Ludo and Chinese checkers. I also loved Chinese checkers because it was played with beautiful solid-colored marbles.

Ludo was very special because it was one of the few games that my father would sit down with my mother and us to play. I always fondly remember those nights when my brother, my mother, my father, and I spent time playing Ludo.

At the beginning of my teenage years, I discovered chess, another game that had a profound impact on me. I learned it in my second year of high school thanks to a teacher who organized tournaments and taught anyone who wanted to learn.

Later, when I became a teacher, I followed his example and started chess clubs at the high school where I worked, where I was able to teach many of my students the magic of this great game.

Recently, I met a young doctor who told me that his father had been a member of the chess club and still remembered me.

I have always loved this exercise of searching my memory. I am grateful to my friends at @silverbloggers for encouraging us to write about these topics. If you would like to join the initiative, click on the following link:.

Thank you for your time.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version).

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Until the next delivery. Thank you.

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