Gosh, you fellas were lucky, I grew up in a rural area during the depression. We made tractors from Grandma's thread spool, a rubber band and match sticks, Pop guns from cottonwood were great. We also made helicoptors by cutting a propeller from a Prince Albert can, a stick and a thread spool. The only clackers I knew of were getting hit upside the head with a green pine cone. Now that made one heck of a CLACK!! Would not trade the era I grew up for any other.
Ben
Ben:
One of my wife and my prized items is a "bookshelf" made entirely from thread spools and 3 small pieces of 1/4 inch wood. It was made by my Wife's grandfather. It was made to hold the only two books in the house: The King James Bible and the Sears & Robuck Catalog.
I guess both PenWife1 and I grew up lucky, as we both had everything we needed and MOST things we wanted.THE thing that we are MOST thankful for is that all of our parents and Grand Parents stressed the importance of honesty, in WORKING HARD for what you get AND living within our means.
For those reasons alone, We will always be indebted to "The Greatest Generation". Maybe the latest run of economic difficulty will help the coming generation become a little more frugal, but somehow, I doubt it!