Play and Learn

In this unfulfilling Christmas period it was important to find any topic to change the subject. Someone ordered a Fisher Price Play and Learn. I have no frame of reference with that.

I had the Fisher Price airport. That foreshadowed the future. Of course the Fisher Price Circus Train took on a second life when one of the cars was used to transport dry Cheerios to my sister when she began eating solid food. That was my mother's idea- she placed the Cheerios in the car and pushed it across the room to a woman who could sit up at this point.

I cannot see one of those train cars or dry Cheerios without a reminder. Isn't the goal of every child to play and learn? My father hated anything that did not lead to higher grades.

If he hated curiosity; why did he have children? I cannot answer that. My life was not as Dickensian as I make it out to be. Probably because they had one more baby.

What did I do with this Pre-Law baby? Play and learn. My father was not impressed when I learned something. It's what you learn after you know it all that counts.

He was not a fan of John Wooden, either. His father took him to college basketball triple headers at Madison Square Garden. That probably led him to prefer east coast teams. UCLA probably beat Stanford all the time.

UCLA beat everyone for a few years. Stanford has great sports teams across the board and he attended the school. None of which has to do with playing and learning.

I never went to college. Not only did I not want to further my education which was rarely successful; I was not interested in partying. Too much drinking, not enough relationships- I would have been a bad student and a bad drunk.

Just say no to college. It makes sense if you are exploring a specific field of study. I was on one conveyor belt and they assumed I would jump on the next one.

There is more learning to be enjoyed at the public library. My father hated that I read for pleasure. What a luxury. I did not drink, smoke or take drugs. No criminal behavior appealed to me. My crime was reading for pleasure.

He wanted me to use outside forces. While books are an outside force, they are enjoyed and interpreted internally. This is not learning to receive a grade. No, it is enriching for life. Exactly what school rarely gave me.

Guess what- I made money other ways. I was not resigned to working in fast food or a car wash as my father threatened me with constantly. Interestingly; I found my way in a comic store.

It was a low paying job. Some paid less. I purchased many comic books which went up in value. A lot are not worth very much. They had value when I read and enjoyed them. Others were entertaining and I could sell them at a profit.

I learned what was good for me. I did not buy extra copies of a series in case it went up in value. Some of those take up space. Others actually rose in price. I learned more from buying and selling comics than I would have in school.

The whole reason to go to college was to "Make money." Adults did not hide behind enlightenment or becoming a better citizen. They wanted me to make money and did not care whom I had to step on to reach that level.

After the divorce I had little to do with organized religion. Not only could they no longer threaten me with Hell after what my father put us through; I was not appreciated in the congregation. I managed to take one phrase with me. "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?"

No one wanted me to use my future earnings to do something worthwhile. They also wanted me to be promiscuous with as many partners as possible. When parents talk about whom I should pursue- Ew.

My father also wanted me to behave like Harvey Weinstein. Guess who is at Ryker's Island unless he is standing trial elsewhere? I remained true to myself. Some called me a loser. They were the same ones who were never satisfied so I did not sell myself short. My life was enhanced when I decided to play and learn. It certainly got me into the game. They were thrilled when I was on the sidelines.

You learn by how others behave or in spite of their behavior. The ones who show a better way to live are preferable. That is what I aspire to become.