Totems
My friend Heidi e-mailed me about a conversation she had with her son, Lucas. She said: "He was so funny. He got all sad because suddenly he realized that he might not have his favorite plane forever. I had to tell him that when people are grown-ups, they have other things. They don't have the same toys as when they are kids."
There are exceptions to that rule, of course. The two items in the photo below are my totems, the objects I pick up or spin when I'm trying to figure out the next sentence or the next game mechanic. They've been on my desk for around three decades. I know that both were gifts, but I can't remember who from. Given my earlier color blindness problems, it might be significant that both totems are pretty much black and white.
While writing this note I realized that Heidi is technically right: this isn't the same toy plane I had as an 8 year old. The P-51 Mustang I kept at hand in elementary school was an Airfix Miniplane that finally wore out, fingered smooth like a worry bead. This new die-cast P-51 by Corgi, with nose art that says Jumpin' Jacques and fuselage art that looks like Bugs Bunny with a shotgun, entered my life sometime in high school or college. But until I started writing this, I'd forgotten that. I thought I was holding on to the plane I'd had as a kid. Does 30+ years count?
The wooden top is from Mexico. It spins beautifully. I've had it on my desk since junior high. Yeah, Inception made me smile.
There are exceptions to that rule, of course. The two items in the photo below are my totems, the objects I pick up or spin when I'm trying to figure out the next sentence or the next game mechanic. They've been on my desk for around three decades. I know that both were gifts, but I can't remember who from. Given my earlier color blindness problems, it might be significant that both totems are pretty much black and white.
While writing this note I realized that Heidi is technically right: this isn't the same toy plane I had as an 8 year old. The P-51 Mustang I kept at hand in elementary school was an Airfix Miniplane that finally wore out, fingered smooth like a worry bead. This new die-cast P-51 by Corgi, with nose art that says Jumpin' Jacques and fuselage art that looks like Bugs Bunny with a shotgun, entered my life sometime in high school or college. But until I started writing this, I'd forgotten that. I thought I was holding on to the plane I'd had as a kid. Does 30+ years count?
The wooden top is from Mexico. It spins beautifully. I've had it on my desk since junior high. Yeah, Inception made me smile.