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I remember the first time I read it to them, because I had not read the book in years. I was surprised to find that it had a very distinct smell to it. It might be due to the ink used to print it, but whatever the reason it created an indelible memory of my childhood.

If you have a copy of it, I’d like you to go get it now. Ok, you’re ready right?

First, close your eyes and hold the book on your lap. Now, slowly feel the cover with your fingers, and then open the book and raise it to your face. No peeking. Smell the book, breathe it in. If that doesn’t bring your childhood rushing back, I don’t know what will.

Now, open the book and read it, just for yourself, and then find someone you love with whom to share it.

Maurice Sendak’s stories opened the door to the Wild Things

NOT NICE: Maurice Sendak and the perils of childhood

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You read it right? Ok, here we go.

After the review he wonders “in 30 years from now will our kids look back and read iPad and iPhone reviews with the same sense of antiquity and novelty that I felt as I read Fallow’s piece?”

My guess, for my kids, who are older than Shawn’s by a few years, is no. My boys use our iPad and iPhones on a daily basis and they absolutely love them. I think it is more likely that they will look back on iPad and iPhone reviews 30 years from now with a fond sense of nostalgia, much as I look back at the original Nintendo, Game Boy, or Super Mario Brothers.

Let me tell you a story. When I was a boy, probably 6 to 8 years old, one of the big three TV stations was promoting a contest during Saturday morning cartoons. I think they had paired up with a cereal company and you had to buy the cereal to enter the contest, but it’s not really relevant. The prize for this contest is what I want to talk about. I wanted to win it so bad that it hurt. It’s one of the first electronic devices that I can remember really wanting, you know the kind of wanting that comes from deep, down inside and won’t be ignored until that craving is filled. So what was this marvelous, amazing device that had me in the throes of technolust?

A hand-held, portable TV. It was a Sony  with a telescoping antenna and  a  2” by 2” color screen. At that point in my life, that portable TV was the coolest thing I had ever seen. Even now, I can remember the excitement I felt at the prospect of winning it, which was the only way I would ever have gotten one, since it was far too expensive to buy. Just think I could watch TV anywhere; in the car, in my bed under the covers late at night when I was supposed to be asleep, on camping trips, I could even sneak it into school and through its magic be the coolest of the cool kids. I thought that portable TV was awesome, and continued to do so for several more years.

Of course, now, looking back on that TV, it doesn’t seem that amazing. Especially, when compared to the magical iPads and iPhones of today, but it gets me thinking. I wonder what device my boys are going to lust after. What is going to get them excited about the mere prospect of owning it? It’s not the iPad and iPhone, as amazing as those are for most of us, they are normal for my boys and probably your kids too. What’s going to amaze and capture the attention of our kids? What’s going to be the coolest of the cool? Whatever it is, it is going to be awesome, and I can’t wait to find out.

Hat tip: Daring Fireball

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I’ve never been in a town that prohibited dancing.

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