Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Childhood's End, Postponed
When she was very little, she went to a park with a real, life-sized train engine, and a real fighter jet. Only three or four years old, she still vividly remembered playing inside the enormous train and the giant jet; pushing and pulling levers, climbing into compartments, and especially looking down on the tiny people from way up above.
When she was older, she asked about the magical playground with the train and the plane, and was told there was no such place. She was saddened by this news, but knew childhood must end sometime. How powerful her imagination must have been, she thought. They seemed so real, so true.
When she was older still, and chose a different path for no particular reason, she came upon a park with a life-sized train engine, and a real fighter jet. They both showed their age, but a little rust and weeds diminished them not at all. She watched a small girl climb out from a compartment, push and pull some levers, and look down on her from way up above.
Childhood's end would come another day.
large size here.
