Keys & Kids

Everybody’s familiar with Toys ‘R’ Us, a parent’s best friend or worst nightmare. I drove by our local store the other day and it occurred to me there ought to be a sister company called Kids ‘R’ Kurious. The thought came to mind because two friends of mine have a 19-month-old daughter whose curiosity is just coming into flower. Her favorite fascination just now is keys.

A few weeks ago, walking in their neighborhood, she and her dad came across a group of three postal drop boxes – the kind with a slot to drop the mail in and a locked door for the mailman to retrieve it. Dad was indulging Bo’s interest by letting her play with the seven keys he carries for his home, office, etc. The toddler decided to toddle up to the mailboxes and, to her father’s amusement, try all seven keys in the lock of the first box . . . and then the second, and then the third. Twenty-one failures later, she was ready to head home.


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A Legacy of Gifts for June

Two of my favorite holidays come in June – Flag Day on June 14, and Father’s Day, this year on June 18.

What I particularly love about Flag Day is that it gives us an opportunity to be patriotic without all the red-white-and-blue hoopla of the Fourth of July. You never see blonde bimbos draped over Ford trucks in Flag Day ads. Instead we should think about the flag and its history and what it represents to our nation, because it really is a symbol that tells a story. Conceptually, it echoes the British Union Jack, whose crossed bars represent the joining of England and Scotland into Great Britain. And unlike traditional banners, there’s no coat of arms suggesting a royal family or powerful aristocracy that run things.


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