Remember when our sidewalk toys were made of metal? We had tricycles, fire engines, red wagons, cars, and even airplanes like the relic (a very well preserved relic) in the photo above. I lived at the bottom of a long hill and we could spend all day pumping the petals or pushing the mini-vehicles up the hill, then race down the sidewalk, legs stretched to keep from dragging our feet (and ruining shoes we weren't supposed to be wearing outdoors! -- but that is another story!) There was always one big bump in the sidewalk caused by trees roots pushing up the concrete and this would just add to the thrill of the race -- and a bruise on the bum. Those hot wheels of the 60's were just that --- hot to touch in the summer and stored away in the garage in the winter (well, in snowy climes, that is.). As they aged their colors, which were usually red and white, dulled and their fenders developed a rust spot or two due to being left out in the rain a few times. (enter the EPA)
Carmi's Thematic Photographic at Written, Inc. this week is all about metal. Metal is still all around us though plastics have taken the shapes of our favorite playground toys and even parts of our grown-up cars and bikes and planes. I suppose a plastic mini-Corvette can be raced on a downhill sidewalk, but surely without the same thrill as our little red metal Nash Rambler. The mini-Corvette has a motor, after all. We didn't even have brakes, not that we used anyway! :-)
We are having fun this week with Metallica. Come join us with your photos of things metal and post them so we all can check them out. The more the merrier!
Photo was taken May 2009 at the General Store, Amanas, Iowa.
8 comments:
That is the coolest! Great picture, great subject.
Great - all it needs is a long runway and a good shove.
I want this! I need this! ...isn't that a song! This is the prettiest red restored toy ever! Nice piece of vibrant red!
What an absolutely stunning photo of an amazing metal... thing! Awesome.
They don't make toys like that anymore. It's all plastic now. It's beautiful :)
Oh, I too remember steep hills and hammered metal cars and carts. There was a solidity about such things, a feeling of protection, a belief that even though you were speeding towards a stone wall and you had no brakes, somehow the car would save you from cuts and bruises. They never did, of course.
I miss the toys of my childhood. They were metal or wood, not the forgettable plastic of today. And even as they aged, they still exuded a certain charm.
This one picture reminds me of what we've left behind. I hope someday soon the retro thing will kick in and the kids of tomorrow will know what real toys feel like. Sometimes, it would be nice to go back to a simpler time.
Oh thanks for reminding me, with this great post, of what fun we had as kids. I too had a red ‘scooter’ made by Triang, which I pushed all over the place. I seem to remember that this included quite steep hills, but they probably weren’t more than a sloping driveway!
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