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 Did
you ever make a spool tractor? A wooden spool from Clark’s
O.N.T. number eight thread makes a good one. First, the rims of
the spool must be cut with notches, evenly spaced and not too
deep. Then, sneak into the kitchen and cut a one-quarter inch
thick slice from the bar of Octagon soap which mother uses for
washing dishes. Maybe she won’t mind when she sees how
industrious you are. Trim the soap into a round “washer”
which fits the end of the spool, and bore a hole through the
center.
Next,
you need a button (two-holer if possible, a bit smaller than the
soap), and a tack, a rubber band, and a small stick or kitchen
match. Drive the tack partially into one end of the spool, hook
the rubber band over the tack and thread through the center of
the spool, through the soap, through the button, and around the
end of the stick or match; in that order. Now, all you need is a
little spit (on the soap), and you can wind up the stick, place
on the floor, and watch it go.
Now,
I’ll dare you to try this experiment. Spend ten or twenty
dollars for a fancy toy to give your small boy; and compare his
reaction to that which you will see if you tell him about the
spool tractor, then help him gather
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materials and make one.
The
same principle will work with your wife. Sharpen the kitchen
knives, hang those drapes she has wanted up, or do whatever it
takes to give her some personal attention; and it will mean more
to her than an expensive gift your secretary chooses and mails
to her. The kid with home-made toys, and the wife with a
home-loving husband are not nearly so poor as some folk seem to
think. There are riches that money can not buy.
I
don’t know where the idea originated, that happiness has to
sparkle. Maybe it came from the fact that gold glitters, or
diamonds reflect light — and these are traditional gifts. But
morning dew, or fresh snow, also sparkle — as you and your
wife have the first cup of coffee, and talk over the coming day.
Furs are warm, but not nearly so warm as the touch of a hand
when cold winds of trouble blow. James Russell Lowell was right
when he penned: “The gift without the giver is bare.”
Come
on Dad! I double-dare you to help your boy make a spool tractor.
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