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December 28, 2005
The Box
Holiday time means gifts. Many gifts. Big ones. Small ones. Pointless ones. Pathetic ones. Thoughtless ones. Waste-of-money ones.
When I was a kid, the best gift I ever got was a box. A simple, plain old cardboard box.
I don’t even recall what came in the box because the box was better than the gift itself.
Over the next two weeks the box took me on the most amazing adventures. My particular box could fly, travel underwater, become invisible and morph into whatever I wanted it to be.
I was able to visit outer space in my box where I recall having tea with an extraordinary nice "hippocrockanellieduck" on a purple planet.
I went back in time in my box and witnessed my grandfather winning The Great River Jump. Nobody has ever been able to achieve that feat since. (I actually think the story was fabricated.)
I won the Cape to Cairo motorcar rally in my box, beating out more expensive and faster rally vehicles.
I hid from a nasty thunderstorm in the box.
I kissed Janet from across the street in the box.
I got slapped by Janet from across the street in the box.
During that time I was spared certain death from a killer cockroach that chased me into the box and held me hostage for at least three minutes before my mum perfumed it into submission with a full can of deodorant spray . (My box lost smelled pretty good for a while after that.)
I flew three missions over Germany during the Blitzkrieg and shot down four Stuka Dive Bombers in my box.
I hid in the box when my dad lost his job and my mother was crying.
I smiled in the box when my dad climbed into the box with me and held me and told me everything was going to be okay.
Posted by trevor at December 28, 2005 05:19 PM
Comments
The box that holds the toy is more interesting than the toy!
that was a beautiful post.
Happy new year.
Posted by: sathish at December 31, 2005 07:28 AM
I adored that story! So wonderful! I used to love boxes, too. One year when I was around 4 years old, we got a new refridgerator which means a very big BOX! My dad made a fantastic "house" for my sister and I. My dad used a black fat magic marker to make doors and windows then cut them out with a big kitchen knife. I'm sure it never did cut so well after that. But, I loved that little house. I haven't thought about that in a long time. Thanks!
Posted by: kelly libby at December 31, 2005 11:59 AM
Sounds like a great box. When I was a kid, I remember a neighbor getting a new refrigerator, and we turned the inside of that box into our own space ship. I'm not sure why, but that is one of my fondest childhood memories - we could create whatever we wanted in that box. :)
Posted by: Swirly at December 31, 2005 01:58 PM
And remember when a blanket thrown over the kitchen table became a secret fort?
Posted by: madame babushka at December 31, 2005 03:45 PM
As I read your posting Trevor many memories attacked me. The memory I would like to share is the year my youngest daughter wanted this huge jar of pickled gherkins for Christmas. Ever since she was a baby she has been eating these little green things. I became convinced that one morning she would wake up with green skin and with little bumps all over her because she ate so many of them. Anyhow she must have been about five years old when we were in a food wholesaler and she spotted this massive jar of gherkins which was packaged for catering purposes. She begged me to buy her a jar then and there, and she didn't stop talking about them. So under the Christmas Tree that year there they were wrapped up. If only I had captured her face when she opened her present. She could barely lift her present and she turned around to everyone and told us all we were not to touch them - these were all hers!!!!! I'll never forget the joy a jar of gherkins gave her. She treasured that jar and its contents. We all had to ask her permission to have one. We do get bogged down making things more complicated than they need to be. Creating joy can be simple if we only take the time to know one another. The simplest of things can give more joy than anyone can imagine. By the way I can't wait to meet you in Wellington (New Zealand) in March. I hope 2006 brings you all you wish for and more.
Posted by: Marica at January 1, 2006 04:13 PM