Little Red

Simon says raise your hand if you had a little red wagon when you were a child. Now put your hand down. Simon didn't say! Now back to the subject. Of course you had a red wagon. I had one, you had one, the kid down the street had one, everyone had one.

Growing up in Fremont, Nebraska, which is flat, I never had the chance to take mine down a hillside at Mach 9 and end up with stitches like other lucky kids did. I was, however, able to go down the street at speeds of five mph with the push of a friend. My Radio Flyer was a car, truck, time machine, roller coaster, and various other vehicles. It wasn't a girl magnet in my neighborhood since the only girl in a twelve-block radius was my sister. Or was it because I was in it? Oh well, that's not important.

Some of you may have a lack of knowledge of where this childhood memory came from. Like 98 percent of me, little red is Italian. In 1917 an Italian immigrant named Antonio Pasin made the Liberty Coaster out of wood. He named it Liberty after the big green lady who welcomed him to America. The metal Radio Flyer made its appearance at the World's Fair in Chicago in 1933-34, which as some of you know, was the same fair that the toy train first made its appearance.

Antonio not only opened the door for fond childhood memories, but put the bread on the table for many doctors' families. I'm sure they named a hospital after him somewhere. The Antonio Pasin Memorial Hospital, "Specializing in care for the children who will have fond childhood memories and put bread on the table for our doctors' families."

Before you go to K-Mart and buy a Radio Flyer, maybe you should save your money and pool it with me. I have my eyes set on the largest Radio Flyer ever made. She weighs seven and a half tons, is 27 feet long, and 21 feet high. Imagine the fun with that down the hill!

The Radio Flyer is fun for all ages, especially kids who are ages 1-9 and 17-22. Before you go down a hill at Math 9 in your young or old age, remember this: the best place to have fun with your Radio Flyer is on a hill that slopes towards the emergency room entrance of your local hospital. You cannot set up an appointinent with the emergency room, which is why it is more convenient than a doctor's office. With an appointment at the doctor's office,. you are forced to wait half an hour or so before the doctor will see you. At the emergency room, just roll in and in five minutes you'll be out in no time with your new set of stitches ready to go right back to the top of that hill.

Well, have fun riding. Oh, by the way, Simon says put your hand down.