Toys from a childhood 90 years ago

I visited someone in the hospital today whose memory stretches back over 90 years. Not having toys, they used what they had - chicken feathers and acorns. In the morning she and her sister would go to the chickens and get feathers. The long ones were men. The shorter fatter ones were women, because "women were always fat in those days." The small feathers were children. They took them to the oak trees and lined up acorns to make the rooms of their play house. The feather people could stand up when the ends were pushed into the dirt. If kids don't have toys, kids will play anyway, making their own.

First stop along the trail

A hike along a trail is a good time for reflecting on life. I often wish I could write down the thoughts that come on a good walk. Maybe that is what this space will be for - to write down what takes shape on the literal or figurative trail.