LET'S PRETEND - Opening segment (Scroll down for earlier chapters)     


     An imagination is a marvelous thing.  It will take you anywhere you’d like to go, and your trip is free.   I’ve always found it a wonderful way to travel.  It made school tolerable.  The only downfall was the fire and smoke, and debris field on the re-entry into reality.  This is why I was always reluctant to return.  As soon as the smoke cleared, there would be Miss Quailbreath glaring at me…”Mr. Maberry, where have you been?” 
       

     I figured my imagination would be the only way I would see a diploma.  The fact that I escaped with one in hand was considered a miracle by some of my classmates.   

         

   With all of our technology, I’ve often wondered if today’s kids have the kind of imagination that made our lives magical years ago.  My grandchildren have assured me there is no shortage of imagination.  For example, their grandmother and I will take them to a store.  Almost immediately, they will imagine us with vast sums of money, to be used at their disposal, for buying anything they desire.  I’m impressed!  I look in my billfold and find the vast sum of five dollars.  I tell them I can’t imagine any more than that.   They’re happy.

     Last night I was watching my grandson pretend he was a Transformer.  I marveled at his imagination.  It didn’t require money.  Soon his father came into the room and suggested he transform into his pajamas for bed.  Brett immediately did his imitation of a five year old with an ear-piercing wail.  If you’ve never heard the ear-piercing wail of a five year old, let me say this; it’s a painful way to get your ears pierced.  His performance was so good it appeared to be stark reality.  I wanted to clap, but I couldn’t take my hands off my ears. 

     When we were kids, my cousin, Lester, and I loved to pretend.  Sometimes we would even pretend to be ourselves, although our parents said they preferred us being someone else.  That way, if we got into trouble, they wouldn’t get the blame for raising incorrigible misfits. 

     Even after child labor laws, much of our time was spent doing reading, writing, and math at school.  There was no technology like the internet, video games, or texting.  But we knew there was a world of adventure and intrigue waiting for us.  We just had to tap into our imagination.  It was our only hope of escaping from the harsh, unrelenting world of schoolwork. 

     With our imaginations, we entered into an exciting world of make-believe; a world that allowed us to date the best-looking girl in school.  That, alone, made an imagination worth every cent.  

To be continued...check back soon