Ken, We had the same toys here in Virginia. I loved my tinker toys. I used to spend hours making as many different airplanes as I could. Then I would get my metal gas station and all of my cars out. The lift on my gas station was a little different though, it was a lever and not a crank. Our living room couch has a skirt that hung down and I would stick my cars under there, that was the garage. I would put the airplanes under each of the end tables, they were my hangers. You see at the age of 10, in my imagination I was a multi-millionaire with around 10 - 12 cars and 5 or 6 airplanes. Life was sweet. One of the best things in my childhood though was my dog. She was a mutt we got as a puppy when I was in the 5th grade. I named her Samantha because I had a crush on Elizabeth Montgomery from Bewitched. We were the best of friends. She went everywhere with me, following me on my bike. When we played baseball all day, she would follow me to the field and sit there while we played all day and then follow me home. A problem arose when I got my drivers license at 16. Everytime I drove somewhere I would have to put her in the house so she wouldn't try to follow me in the car. The first time this happened, I had driven about 3 blocks down the hill from our house and looked in the mirror and saw Samantha chasing after me as fast as she could. I felt so bad, I stopped the car and drove her back home. She just couldn't understand why she couldn't go with me. She stayed with my mother when I went away to college and then when I got an apartment after getting out of school. She got very sick around the age of 12 and the vet said it would be best to put her to sleep. Taking her to the vet was the hardest thing I've ever done. Here I was a strong ex-football player of 23 years old and I cried like a baby and as I type this I still get a tear(s) in my eye. I've had several dogs since, but I don't think there is ever one as good as the one you had as a child. Harry in Salem, VA _______________________________________________ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
