Dinky Toys

Has anybody seen my Dinky toys? They must be around here somewhere because there were dozens of them and you can't just misplace dozens of neat little miniature cars can you? Especially when they were such a vital part of my childhood. I loved them and I took care of them - so where did they go? I can still even describe some of them for you. A green Volkswagen bug, several army trucks, a 1961 yellow Thunderbird with whitewall tires and doors that really opened, and a teal blue convertible with a tinted windshield. You don't just lose treasures like these.

Man I loved those little cars! You could buy them anywhere from five and dime stores to Mazucca's Smoke Shop. Sure they were made of die cast toxic metal and finished in several coats of lead paint - but that is what made them so durable and so real! And they had real little rubber tires - not the hard plastic ones that came later on those cheap Hot Wheels.

I looked after them - I washed them, I lined them up and counted them. I even built a little wooden shelf to display them in my room. Where did they go - I haven't seen them in about 45 years? For years I had a recurring dream about my collection of Dinky toys. In the dream I always found them safely stored away in a shoe box in a big dining room hutch that my parents owned and I would wake up almost believing it was true. Unfortunately that old hutch is long gone too...

If you are a girl you don't understand about Dinky toys, they were probably just something you stepped on in the hallway. But believe me - nothing gave more pleasure than to spend time in your bedroom or on the living room rug driving over make believe roads.

I suppose they still are for sale somewhere but now they would be considered collectors items and that would spoil the fun. Besides, I want my own Dinky toys back. So if you happen to see a shoe box of well used, well loved Dinky toys lying around, and want to see a grown man cry - just drop me a line.

Another Baboon!

I almost decided to not write this but then I realized that my faithful readers (all seven of you) would understand.  You might remember that I wrote a previous blog entitled "El Dummo" about a seemingly miraculous apparition of a baboon that appeared in a set of our neighbour's outdoor Christmas tree lights.

Well believe it or not - it has happened again, but not in a tree this time and not in lights.

This latest baboon has revealed itself in the form of a rust stain on a concrete wall and if you care to read on you will be given explicit instructions as to where it is located so you can see for yourself.

All you have to do is drive around to the back entrance of the Chalmers Hospital and park near the sign for the Meals on Wheels pick up area. And there he is in all his simian glory - waving his arms in the air and running like... well, a baboon. 

Let me make it perfectly clear that I do not go around looking for these mystical wonders and even if I did I wouldn't go looking for baboons. Believe me, when they appear I am just as surprised as you are. I am not sure what this all means in the grand scheme of things. It is not totally unheard of to see strange visions but usually it is the face of the Virgin Mary or Jesus. I'm not even sure I would recognize Jesus in a rust stain anyway but I know a baboon when I see one.

So head on up to the Chalmer's Hospital at your first opportunity, but hurry - it is a construction zone and who knows how long it will be there. I should mention that there is a security gate but just look the guard right in the eye and say "I am here to see the baboon." 


Let me know how that works out for you...