Well hello, once again.  I hope all you collectors out there are finding your "fair share" of the good stuff, whatever that may be.  I've had a few sporadic days of luck myself, few and far between.

I really wish this was gonna be a lighthearted look at the world, but this time, I think its gonna be more serious, instead.  It's a dirty, thankless job, but somebody's got to do it, right?

It seems like nowadays you can't open a newspaper or watch the news on TV without hearing about some school shooting or someone being arrested on school property with a gun or weapon.  Remember when it was a moral crime to be caught chewing gum in class or on the bus, even?  Kinda makes you wish those times would return, doesn't it?  I remember guys getting in trouble for bringing their toy cars to school and playing with them on their desks.  Personally, I'd much rather my daughter deal with a guy and his toy car in school than a guy and his gun.  I also figure most of the teachers would rather have that, too.  Betcha' even some of them would even look the other way and let the guy roll it all over the room at this point!

Anyone see where I'm going with this yet?

With the problems that some of these kids have, I can't help but wonder what they're doing with their free time.  Have kids forgotten how to play?  Have they forgotten the fun you can have with your imagination?  Even the grown kids can benefit from a little imaginative play every once in awhile.  And so what if they don't want to "play" with their toys?  What's to stop them from collecting some sort of "stupid thing" just for the fun of it?

Does everything we do have to have some sort of redeeming "social value?  Does everything we collect have to have some real value to it?  Die cast cars, for instance. Most collectors know that the regular issue cars of today will never have any "real" monetary value over what they pay to begin with.  Of course, some will be the exception and granted, some people (not necessarily collectors) may have fun trying to second-guess the market.  After all, it takes all kinds to make the world go around.  But the whole point of this to have fun and I can't help but think that there must be "fun" missing out of the lives of some of these kids.  A lot of kids will argue that they do have fun; after all they've got their computers and their Play Stations and so forth.  While I'm not an anti-gun activist and I sure don't believe in making all video/PC games all sweet and rosy, I do still feel the need for some parental guidance and involvement in that area.  Plain and simply put, today's games do desensitize certain individuals to violence and its aftermath.  Most of these games are probably getting in the hands of children at too early an age before they have really learned the total difference between real and fantasy, or right and wrong.

Add to that the Internet and all its varied info and applications.  Several marriages (mine included) have been destroyed due to the proliferation of "chat rooms" and the prowlers who stalk their easy marks there.  These guys are real pros; they say what their victims want to hear and they can sweet-talk their way into a woman's life before they realize it's happened to them.  There are all sorts of scams on the net, not to mention the sickos who target our children.

But on the other hand, there is also a bright side to the Internet!  Take CB's for a shining example.  Collectors have never had it so good before the Internet and computers!  It is now possible to contact other collectors for trading, selling, help in finding a wanted piece, ideas, or just plain old fashioned "shooting the breeze."  And there's plenty of sites out there that can be used just for fun like that, whatever your hobby or love may be!

There's eBay and tons of other lesser-known auction sites where collectors all over the world have the opportunity to add to their collections as never before.  And collectors have the chance to thin out their extras and offer them to others who may not have the chance to find these pieces in their own home state.

The growth of home PCs and the Internet has changed so many lives, both for the good and bad.  But as with anything in life, you must know how to use it for it to be beneficial as opposed to detrimental in your life.  For the most part, I'm glad to be alive during this time frame.  Now if I can just figure out some way to smuggle in several hundred Hot Wheels at my daughter's school ...............................................

Until next time, play fun, play happy, play safe,

Stoneman