Category: Things

This is not the tricycle we grew up with. It can function as a self propelled vehicle, but it comes with a handle in the back for an adult to push and steer this monstrosity. The seat has side bars to keep the child contained in the cockpit, a drink holder in the front, an operable shade canopy, and a small storage container in the trunk. The foot petals are geared so that stubborn little feet can’t stop forward movement. This model has hard rubber wheels, but I’ve seen a version with inflated tires.

The thing looks as kludgy as it sounds, especially if you get one with the plastic that has been aged in the desert sun. We bought ours from a family who was moving back to England.

However, this contraption has been brilliant for getting the boy to fall sleep, pushing him in loops around and around the house. Sometimes it will happen in a few magical minutes. Often I’ll get more than thirty minutes to practice walking mindfulness meditation.

Recently, he’s decided that he prefers riding an old office chair, where he can sit proudly on his throne as he heads towards slumberland. But fear not, his older sister will occasionally squeeze herself into the tricycle and zip a few rounds around the kitchen.

I’m impressed with Radio Flyer. They have crafted a nostalgia brand, but they aren’t afraid to throw random things out into the world. These new era artifacts can be quite ugly, especially given wholehearted embrace of plastic.

But if the kids dig it, how much of an argument do I have?

The kids were fighting over the Nerf ball. The girl and I had been batting around the little orange ball, which made it became an object of desire for both of them, even after we had moved on to riding the red wagon around the backyard.

As any parent would do in this time of high stress, I found a colorful O-ball and convinced them trade balls every time we passed the outdoor sink. They acquiesced and we had peace (more or less) for the remainder of their wagon ride, even though they both thought that the orange Nerf ball was obviously more desirable.

I often wonder what the gods must think of us humans and our squabbles. In the moment, the dumbest shit is always the most important issue ever, often becoming deadly serious when adults are involved. Maybe the evolutionary role of religion in societies was to make us think “as-if” we were the higher deity and get us to rise beyond our momentary passions.

However, it seems to have been only partially successful. Religion may have made individuals a little better, but we’re now stuck with conflicts between large groups of humans, each with the conviction they have a supernatural power on their side.

It’s too bad that these tribes aren’t willing to settle for trading colorful balls every few minutes.

These two toys were purchased in quite different fashions. The wagon was bought brand new, online. The Furby was discovered while waiting in line at the Goodwill, on a half-off Saturday.

Both have been sporadic hits.

In Vegas the heat can be unbearable, so the wagon is left unused for months until the kids suddenly decide it is fun to be pulled along, bringing the it back into rotation. In this time of pandemic, it has also been the closest they will be getting to an amusement park ride.

The Furby plows through four batteries at a time and wears out its welcome for adults equally as quick. Even though the kids have always enjoyed it, it too is only played sporadically due to a lack of willingness by the big people. However, I must admit it is beyond cute to watch our toddlery mimic the quirky Furby language.

The joy of thrifting is the hunt; a joy that is unhindered by options. This Furby is covered in a grid of black, pink, and cyan triangles. Not completely horrific, but it was the only choice, so this purchase was free of angst. (In retrospect, my wife and I would have debated this $1.50 spend if we had realized how many batteries this little thing would consume.)

On the other hand, the wagon purchase has always been tinged with a bit of regret. Soon after purchasing this wagon, we saw a collapsible canvas wagon which could be easily stored, unlike this hunk of plastic. After half of decade of pulling children around in molded seats, I think the ergonomics of this Radio Flyer has proven its worth, but for a time we were certain the $70 was not optimally spent.

Even so, we have used both of these quite a bit, more than most of our other purchases. Unfortunately, it seems impossible to guess what toy will catch their fancy until you open up the wallet and bring the thing home.

Over the past few months, my daughter has really gotten into reading Peanuts. Charlie Brown’s escapades on the pitcher’s mound dovetailed nicely with the the Nerf ball and bat we gave her last Christmas and the fact we’ve been trapped at home during the pandemic.

We gathered all the soft balls in the house and started using it for batting practice in the backyard.

Starting from the bottom corner:

• Orange ball, foam. This is the Nerf ball that came with the bat. She has decided this is her favorite ball of them all.
  
• Blue and green globe, squishy. A stress-ball with a NV Health Link logo, so I believe it we must have picked it up during some sort of local fair in the last few years when the ACA was being rolled out.
  
• Blue ball, squishy. This ancient stress-ball has a smiley face on it. We have no idea where it came from.
  
• Tennis ball, fuzzy. My in-laws had a couple ancient tennis balls in their garage when we moved to Vegas seven years ago. This thing might be old enough to drink.
  
• Orange ball, dimpled. We bought our boy a set of rubber balls when he started teething a couple years ago.
  
• Lime ball, striated. This is part of that rubber ball set. It feels a little hard inside the house, but it softens up quite a bit when you go outside on a warm day.
  
• Hacky sack, red. We picked this up at Kappa Toys, while waiting to join the Women’s March in January, 2017. Last year, I met the owner of the store, when we were putting our house up for rent. She and her husband were very nice
  
• Yellow Ball, corona-y. Part of the rubber ball set. We thought he might like to chew on these toys, but no, he only enjoyed putting contraband into his mouth.
  
• Sucker Ball, fluorescent. I picked this up off the side of the road along with a weighted jump rope. It works, we’ve had a ridiculous amount of fun throwing it at our dresser, and our closet doors (which are mirrors)
  
• Magenta Ball, dimpled. I’m running out of things to say about this rubber ball set.
  
• Red ball, dimpled. There is a sixth ball in the rubber ball set, but we have no idea where it’s been lost. I think it was light blue.
  
• Purple ball, bouncy. We were given this up at a Microsoft Surface event where our daughter made a little video. It has has a cloth cover but has a bit of bounce to it with some dense rubbery filler.
  
• Stress ball, baseball-y. This ball has logos of the College of Southern Nevada and the 51’s (a local minor league team now named the Aviators).
  
• O-ball, holey. When our daughter was a toddler, I wanted something to play catch with her. There was an option with rattles, but we chose the simple version. The rainbow colors make for a cool photo when thrown in the air.
  
• Container, translucent white. This came home with our boy from the hospital. If I remember correctly, he got his first bath in this tub, which is almost inconceivable two years later.
  
• Shopping Cart, Minnie. This was another roadside pickup, in downtown Las Vegas. It was on the way to the house, as I was doing some last fixes before putting it up to rent.
  
• Pavers, CMU. My in-laws decided to pave over a significant portion of their backyard which had been covered with river rocks. I disagreed with the idea and still think it was a horrifically ugly mistake. However, it has dramatically increased the amount of playable surface area for the kids, and during this time of COIVD, it has become a walking track for my father-in-law since they are hesitant to even leave the property. It’s a good reminder to take one’s own advice too seriously.