is for arbles
The Way I See It
When I was a kid the tech world was in someone’s imagination and not available to the average adult and certainly not to kids. We played lots of board games and puzzle games and we had crayons and coloring books. And we had Marbles.
It seems to play Marbles was very popular in my parent’s childhood days and my father had a big collection of marbles that he gave to us. Once in awhile my friends and I would play marbles but not often. That was okay with me because I liked playing with marbles by myself. I liked just sorting through them and rolling them around and making abstract pictures with them.
I have no idea where the big jug of marbles disappeared to. I would like to have them now to use as color in a bowl on a table and to roll them around in my hands and wonder at the colorful designs and sizes of those pretty and decidedly un-tech orbs. The only marble I have these days is the one that rolls around in my head looking for the other marbles that used to be there and sometimes causes headaches.
The way I see it…kids today with their eyes always on a screen of some sort are missing out on some fun. They are losing their marbles before they have any fun playing with them. One day they will realize they only have one marble to play with and it’s rattling around in their head all by itself and that’s just sad.
Patricia's Place 
I had marbles when I was a kid, but never actually played a game of marbles. My father was pretty much of a marble champion when he was a kid according to him and my uncle. It’s a lost art.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
I didn’t play often but I did like looking at them and rolling them around. I don’t think kids today have any idea of what to do with marbles.
Oh! I used to love collecting marbles as a kid! I had a very small collection though, ‘coz I never really knew how to play with them. I agree, kids today are missing out on a lot of fun we had in our times. Did you guys play “spin the top”? We call them “lattu” in India.
Btw, I’m lagging behind. (Was unwell.) Will post my ‘L’ and catch up with your ‘L’ next Sunday. In the meantime, DO visit my ‘M’.
Happy AtoZing!
Chicky @ http://www.mysteriouskaddu.com
I think half the fun of marbles was the collecting of them. Finding something different was always the goal. I sorta remember spin the top or at least the having of a spinning top but the game. A to Z is a challenge to keep up with. Sometimes I am posting near midnight.
Marbles are a sweet memory from my childhood too, and I wish I still had them now. I think you make a very valid point about today’s young people and what they are losing unaware as they stare at their phone screens like zombies. What memories will they have I wonder? What pleasures will they retain if they have no real life experiences, nothing tangible like marbles to hold?
I guess in a few years we will know what the true pluses and minuses of tech toys have on kids today. I think they have their place but we still have to know how to relate to people face to face. It’s easy to have a false front when all anyone sees is what is on a screen.
I enjoyed your marble memories. We played with marbles when we were young, though not often. When we cleared out my parents’ house, we found a bag of marbles. I’m not sure whether they were my brother’s and mine or whether they were older. After 50 years, I didn’t recognize them. We have them now for our grandsons, and they use them with a maze toy. The last time they were at our house, three marbles escaped and are now on a table in the den. Every once in a while I roll them around in my hand. I’m glad we share this simple pleasure.
It’s wonderful to have something that is shared by generations. Toys and things like marbles don’t wear out like tech toys of today.
I love this post, Patricia. Marbles are very pretty and I would love to a bowl full of them too. I used to play jacks and pickup sticks, which was a lot of fun back then. Great memories associated with these games.
I think kids playing only with tech toys are missing out on the connections we had playing with our toys and games. Friendships were built with those toys.
When I was a kid, mostly the boys played marbles. The girls played jacks and pick up sticks. No high tech toys then. Our games helped us develop agility with our hands and strategies with our mind. Wonder how that works today.
I forgot about pick up sticks. I loved that game! Marbles were more a boy game but I liked it and the boys tolerated me…unless I won too often.
This is a wonderful post, my friend. I enjoyed your memory of marbles. It brought back memories for me. I was always a no-nonsense tomboy. As a kid in Chicago, playing marbles was really competitive. Trading marbles was very serious business, too. Moving so much, I literally lost my marbles. Now, you have the rest of my story. *wink* HUGS!
I wasn’t a tomboy but I did like playing marbles and cowboys and Indians. Sorry you lost your marbles.
I love marbles. My husband found his childhood ones in his parents’ basement when we were cleaning out the basement. I have them displayed in a gumball machine.
Awesome!
How wonderful!