A Remembrance of the Kaleidoscopes of My Childhood
Saturday, October 08, 2016
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| Cyclamen hederifolium - October 8 2016 |
Cyclamen
hederifolium (ivy-leaved cyclamen or sowbread) is a species of flowering
plant in the genus Cyclamen, of the family Primulaceae. It is the most
widespread cyclamen species, the most widely cultivated after the florist's
cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum), and the
most hardy and vigorous in oceanic climates. It is native to woodland, shrub land,
and rocky areas in the Mediterranean region from southern France to western
Turkey and on Mediterranean islands, and naturalized farther north in Europe
and in the Pacific Northwest.
Wikipedia
The toys of my youth are never going to return. I
remember the tops that I would wind with string and then throw on to the sidewalk.
We had a more aggressive game where several of us with trompos would bury one of
them (we took turns) and we had to try to split the one on the ground.
In Buenos Aires we bought figuritas which were little round cardboard portraits of football players. The game was to flick them to a wall on the sidewalk. The one who had it closest to the wall would keep all of them.
Every year some uninspired parent of one of my friends would give me a croquet set for my birthday. Invariably I would convert three balls and string into boleadoras (bolas in English) and I would make believe I was running after South American ostriches. In later years we played bicycle polo with the croquet set.
But a toy of my youth I suddenly remembered today was the kaleidoscope. I received many of them. I would turn them for hours.
Walking from my living room to my oficina/studio I noticed my Rosemary’s Cyclamen hederofolium with its one single little flower. I instantly remembered those kaleidoscopes of my youth.
I know that one of the few places in Vancouver where one can by such an item is Lee Valley Tools. Should I buy one for my 14-year old Lauren? Or is she too old for one?
