So when did the change happen? Just like the day in the 90's when I went into the music store to buy a record and it had switched over to all CD's, I was struck with the thought, when did that happen? Was I that out of touch that I didn't see that coming? Recently I was in an antique store, with the emphasis on "antique" when I saw a vendor that specialized in retro toys. Oh yeah. Most of the toys were from my generation......a well used game of Operation, Nancy Drew books, a gyroscope (if you have to ask what that is, you are not a boomer), pogo stick, Mousetrap, Jane West doll, and the best one of all.....Clackers. AAAAHHHHH, clackers. So much fun. Two large acrylic balls on a string with a handle in the middle. The purpose was to get those balls moving up and down so that they met and made this huge noise. Loved them. We used to have contests of how long you could keep that toy clacking. I was pretty good at it so I made sure that we played that at recess......along with baton twirling and keep away.
Sadly it may have been the first toy recall in history when they found out that those acrylic balls could shatter with pieces flying right into your eye. My mother confiscated my clackers with great protestations from me. I even used some of my best 7th grade negotiation skills. You know the drill...."Come on, Mom. I will be careful with them. I won't clack them too hard. Nobody else's Mother is taking theirs" Didn't work......clackers were gone. So I had to return back to competitive paddleball. You can still buy this toy. A small wooden paddle with a rubber ball attached with a stapled rubber band. We were pretty sincere in our attempts to keep everyone at a level playing ground. If you recall, it didn't take long for the particularly ambitious player to break that rubber band, pronto. So you kept stapling the rubber band back to the paddle losing a little length at each repair. We would check each player's equipment to make sure they had less than 3 staple marks in order to be in compliance of our playground rules. George Brett and his pinetarred baseball bat wouldn't have stood a chance with our self imposed set of playground rules.
So when did it happen... when my toys are now fodder for those on an antique hunt? I tried not to take it personally. I'm sure that the biggest consumers of these items are baby boomers like myself, looking to reminisce about a simpler time. And not to be bitter about my long gone clackers, but seriously, can a wooden paddle with a wayward rubber ball/projectile really be any safer?
