Meccano Dreamin'

When I was little, around six I guess, my brother, who was eight had a Meccano set.  I thought it was the coolest thing in the whole damn world.  And I wasn't allowed to play with it. I don't think I was even allowed to look at it sideways.

Was it because it wasn't a girl's toy, or was it just that Hec wanted to have some stuff that was just for him:  something my meddling little mitts wouldn't get all into.  Whatever the reason, it was strictly out of bounds.  And I don't remember EVER crossing the line into the forbidden territory.

About 36 years later, I was in a toy shop in Athens pondering what to get Milo for his third birthday.  It had to be something light, something that could be transported easily back to Australia.  Something durable, something deconstructable. Something either age appropriate or something he could grow into... SOMETHING MECCANO!

And so it came to pass that Milo got his first set.  And the first time he played with it, was with Hec.  I think they made the helicopter.  Sure its components aren't metal.  Sure it doesn't have any mechanical bits or engines or pulleys or strings or anything, but still, it's 21st century Meccano.  And that's Meccano none the less.

Today, Milo is a few months shy of turning six, and after school he pulled the bag of bits out of the drawer in his bedroom and asked me to help him assemble the car.  So we did.  He located the parts, I did the construction.

By the time we'd finished we were both too stuffed to even look at the thing.  But the point is we did it.  And together.  And in doing so I fulfilled a dream.