“A boy and his toys,” was the phrase that ran through his mind as a wide grin punched out of the child’s face.
As with most kids his age, the boy loved stuff. Ok, correction, the boy loved getting and owning stuff. Vague memories of his own childhood stirred in Pop’s mind enough to ease any serious concern. That said, the constant drill of Pops by the boy started to raise eyebrows over time. Overtures like “You don’t understand! I really need to have this!” or “We’re going shopping! Great! I know exactly what I want! Wait, what?! Grocery shopping?! Oh, then I don’t wanna go.” started to weigh heavy on Pop’s mind.
Things really came to a head when sibling rivalry would enter the picture. Pops even entertained the notion of buying a black and white striped referee’s jersey. The waging of “Give me back! That’s Mine!” wars inevitably would lead to thought corrective lectures. “Look, it’s just an object, a thing. And there are thousands more out there just like it, but you only have one sister.” Punitive measures where sometimes used to enforce the concept. That still didn’t put a stop to the boy’s possession obsession.
Sweet talking, scheming, and outright begging were often employed. Like a canon-battered rampart Pops stood his ground. Thankfully, Moms had a better idea. She buttressed the old Rolling Stones argument (“You Can’t Always Get What You Want!”) with a very clever loophole. “If I bought everything you asked for, we wouldn’t be able to eat, let alone have a house to keep your stuff in, but I’ll tell you what. How about instead of buying everything you want, I’ll buy you some clay and you can make whatever you want with it? I’ll even help you make some of the stuff.”
Although troublesome at first, over the long haul, Mom’s solution paid off. Yes, money was still being spent, but the issue was never about the money. It was about finding a different way to satiate the boy’s material cravings. “If he want’s it so bad, he’ll have to literally work for it, no?” Pops shook his head in impressed agreement and the boy busied himself stretching, molding, and carving instead of demanding protestations in favor of impulse purchases. That’s not to say the boy stopped getting new toys. Moms and Pops were never at a loss for birthday present ideas.
Still, the boy’s appetite grew in unexpected directions. “You know the Cybermat you got me for my birthday?” “Yes.” “Well, it’s cool n’ all, but it’s not the same as the one on the show.” “Oh.” “Yeah, so I decided to modify it.” Armed with a screwdriver, a picture of the Cybermat from the show, some clay, and shear will power, the boy had removed the front plate of the toy, shaped some jaws out of clay, and fitted the jaws to perfectly glue into what had become the toy’s mouth. “A boy and his toys,” thought Pops.
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Filed under: Photo Challenges Tagged: 2812 photography, Cybermat, Nikon D800, Object, Pete Rosos, photography, Possessive, postaday, The Daily Post, Weekly Photo Challenge, Wordpress
