Janaury 2002 Editorial
By Chuck Nacy
Having discovered early on in life that I was too light to play scholastic
football, too short to be effective at basketball, and too uncoordinated to
cope with baseball, it did not require a degree in rocket science to understand
that running (wherein I would generally be required to move forward without
too many sudden and abrupt changes in my horizontal and vertical attitude)
was the athletic endeavor for me.
This, however, has not deterred me from developing an interest - albeit usually
a spectating interest - in a wide variety of sports on both the amateur and
professional levels, and, since I spend a fair amount of time in my vehicle
traveling from here to there, I have formed the habit of staying tuned to
ESPN Radio in order to keep abreast of what's going on in the wild world of
sports.
Recently, one of the talking heads on the morning segment took an abrupt right-angle
turn from his comments on professional football, and began informing all of
us in Listener Land that there had been new additions made to the Toy Hall
of Fame. For the uninitiated, including myself, it turns out that there really
is a National Toy Hall of Fame, housed at "Discovery Village" in
Salem, OR and that this year's inductees were Silly Putty and the Tonka Classic
Dump Truck of 1949. These two join such other stellar childhood staples as
the Slinky (circa 1945), jacks, Mr. Potato Head, the Hula Hoop, Viewmaster,
Radio Flyer's Red Wagon, Tinker Toys, Crayola Crayons, Legos, Play-Doh, and
(shudder!) Barbie, to name a few.
At this point my mind had taken a nostalgic trip back some three to five decades
to the "simpler times" we all seem to lust after in the Electronic
Age, and, although the radio-guy soon returned to game scores and upcoming
interviews with over-paid athletes, I found a few moments of temporary peace
in those segments of my memory that are increasingly clearer than the ones
that house the history of my meals over the past few days.
Looking back on this incident, I think that we all can create our own, personal
Halls of Fame, nominating and unanimously electing persons, objects or incidents
that reflect the foundations of our lives, housing them in our minds and creating
"safe havens" that we can visit at any time alone or share with
those having common interests.
Right now I'm working on my own version of a Runner's Hall….mentally
cataloging such historical items as the Nike Waffle Trainer (it would still
sell today), Nike's Cortez (a leather-topped training shoe with a blown-rubber
sole; the tops never wore out, but the soles began to disappear after a hundred
miles); ERG/GookinAid (an early electrolyte replacement drink that was virtually
unpalatable); Runner Magazine (which had a short life before being absorbed
by Runner's World, but had wonderful articles); 3x5 cards and a single safety
pin used for race numbers….with more reflection, the list gets longer.
History is important but memories are personal, the latter shaping our present
and future by reminding us of who we were. Try building your own "hall,"
- whatever the theme - fill it with the essence of your life, add to it continually,
and admit those who deserve to know you. Do I hear any nominations?
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