Pickup sticks and jacks were so cool. And don't forget jumprope. How many hours do you think we played Monopoly? And slates! Remember those? That funny red wooden pencil. I'm doing a chapter in my book on the games we playd. I started thinking about the toys we played with and I have a whole other chapter.

I love going into an antique store and seeing the old toys. There is a five and dime in North Conway, NH that is just like it used to be. You can find jacks and slinky's and it even has the creaking wooden floors.

Now the kids have inland skates and rollerblades and all that. Not as good as the old metal ones with the key are they? And remember how those things on the front held the skates onto your shoe? You'd be skating along and they'd come undone and off we'd go. When we got to go rollerskating inside, we skated to organ music on wooden floors.

Louisa