Dusting off the good ol’ stuff

I was doing a little digging around in some of my old stuff I’ve saved for dubious reasons last week and the first thing that caught my attention was a set of four purple plastic puzzle pieces in asymmetrical shapes that, when assembled properly, produce a three-dimensional triangular pyramid about the size of a golf ball. I’ve possessed this puzzle for decades but it’s been a number of years since I’ve put it together; it took me the better part of 20 minutes this go ‘round, and still gave me a level of self-satisfaction.

The puzzle then had me uncovering other random stuff I’ve stored for eons, dating back to my childhood.

I still have my original Silly Putty in its blue and white plastic egg … amazingly, it’s still pliable. Silly Putty was made by accident during World War II to fill the need for a synthetic rubber to help with the wartime effort due to a shortage of natural rubber. It was never used for that purpose and later became popular as a toy because it could bounce and, of course, kids could flatten it and copy the comics or newsprint onto it like a mimeograph — a novel, if questionable, fun factor. I figure I got it in my Easter basket one year because Silly Putty was first marketed at Easter time — hence the egg-shaped container.

From my days dropping quarters into gumball machines for toys, I still have a mini pair of metal pliers, a mini troll doll encased in a mini plastic charm (troll dolls of all sizes were quite a fad in the ‘60s and ‘70s), and three mini superballs — a soccer ball, basketball and billiard ball — that all still perform.

I’ve held onto my one and only mood ring, another fad from the ‘70s. I put it on last week and it briefly turned blue-green before fading back to black, because the thermotropic liquid crystals (yes, I Googled it) typically only last a couple of years.

I have three Hohner harmonicas (Why, I’m not sure since I never really learned how to play), all in their original blue vinyl cases and two of which have the original paper instructions for how to play “On Top of Ol’ Smoky.”

I also still have my yellow Livestrong bracelet from the fallen hero Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong Foundation. While Armstrong was ultimately stripped of all his Tour de Force titles due to the doping scandal, the Livestrong Foundation he established has raised millions of dollars in its 25-year history in support of cancer organizations and programs.

I keep my children’s first baby teeth in the small jewelry box my engagement ring came in where I’d also stashed the note written on our son’s behalf by his dad to the tooth fairy: “Dear Tooth Fairy, Can you not take my tooth but still can I get a fifty cent piece?”, signed by the kindergartener himself.

Last, and best, I have a plump bundle of letters from a boyfriend written to me during the years of our long-distance relationship. They were definitely worth hanging onto, and so was the boyfriend … so I married him.

​​Community editor Carol Marino may be reached at 406-758-4440 or community@dailyinterlake.com.