Tuesday, April 3, 2012

The Letter C

C
Clackers

Your finger curls into a metal ring. You take a deep breath and slowly begin to move your hand up and down while your finger grips the ring even tighter. You’re concentrating on those balls as your hand begins to move up and down faster. You begin to smile as both balls begin to touch and make that wonderful clacking sound. You keep your hand going up and down as fast as possible as your smile turns into cries of triumph as those balls slam together…up and down…up and down…up and down. Then the reality sets in as the balls somehow miss a single beat in the fast rhythm and a searing pain slams against the bone of your wrist. Your finger immediately releases the ring and you hear those hard acrylic balls bang onto the ground or floor. At that moment you are no longer smiling, only wincing and gripping your wrist in excruciating pain. Ah the memories and scars of that delightful toy of the late 60’s and early 70’s. My parents did have to make an unexpected trip to Emergency Room at the Hospital when my older sister ended up with a wrist bone fracture due to a neighbourhood clackers competition. After many recorded injuries of head injuries and bruised and broken wrists this toy was considered a dangerous toy and was pulled from the shelves. They resurfaced in a more modern and less dangerous version a few years later.


 

8 comments:

HeatherL said...

Oh what great memories and what a frustrating toy!! Great post!

Anonymous said...

Please don't hate me for this, but it sounded pornographic in the beginning. I hate myself for writing this because this is a toy, after all. I am just the big pervert in the room.

Anonymous said...

Growing up in the 70s...we should all be dead lmao!

Elizabeth Mueller said...

Great writing! Love the 2nd person PoV. Don't have very many of those books around any more, hu?

Happy C day!


Elizabeth

A to Z co-host

MOV said...

I never had that toy. Now I can see why.

found you on the a to z, will be back to read more!

best,
MOV
http://mothersofbrothersblog.blogspot.com

Al Penwasser said...

BALLS SLAMMING TOGETHER!!!!?????
YEESH!!!!!
I'd rather have a wrist fracture.
But, that's just me.

Al Penwasser said...

By the way...Nellie? I sure don't hate you. 'Cause it sounded that way to me, too. That's why "Little Al and the Boys" retreated up inside my body like a family of scared turtles.

JoJo said...

Found you on the A-Z Challenge list!
http://tahomabeadworks.blogspot.com/

I remember clackers. I wanted some but my parents said no way. They weren't around very long as I recall....this had to have been around 1970. For years there was the rumour that the first Chris on "the Partridge Family" was killed by clackers, which was why he was only in the first season. Found out later that wasn't true. lol