2001-06-20 - 12:15 p.m.
The building inspector for our buyers comes this afternoon, so I'm tidying a bi today. Well, taking a break from tidying...
Yesterday, Zack and I got out of the house for a little while and went to Toys R Us. He has a thing for cleaning tools and I wanted to find him a pint-sized broom or mop to play with so he will no longer put walls and lamps at risk with the full-sized version. While there, we looked through the pre-school toy section.
Shopping for children's toys is a mix of nostalgia and discovery. There are many toys, like the Corn Popper, which haven't changed at all. There are brand new "educational" toys, like the Intelli-Table, which use modern electronics and computer chips. And there are some that have been modernized, like the Little People. No more ball heads on peg bodies. They're molded plastic now, complete with chubby little arms and legs and names like "Eddie" and "Patrick." The infant and dog don't seem to have made the cut, though. Pity.
Some old toys have vanished completely and some really should have. Remember the Weebles? "Weebles wobble but they don't fall down." They were simple, like the Little People - a paper illustration of a character or animal sealed in a transparent plastic egg. I looked for them a few months ago online, but found nothing but collector's pages for the old toys. So I assumed they had gone the way of the Dodo. Until Yesterday.
As I was pricing some of the Little People toys that I would like to buy for Zack, I found the Weebles. Like the Little People, Weebles have been modernized for the 21st century child and appear to be direct competition with L.P. Alas, they're going to lose. They are also molded plastic now, made with a ball in the base so that they roll. This would be very spiff, except the designers have attempted to keep the classic egg shape. Weebles look like dangerously obese, neckless children - an image enhanced by the partial consumed cookies and treats most clutch in one pudgy hand. They are rather disturbing and, since the entire line is marked 50% off, I can safely suppose I'm not the only one who thinks so.
So I think I'll spend a little time in my parents' attic this summer. I have no idea if the old Weebles are up there or were sold years ago at a yard sale, but it's worth a look...
