Lost my marbles

Jack's new (old) marble collection

Last weekend my neighbor came over with an old tackle box with a name in black marker on the front. The box belonged to her daughter, the school marble champion. This was the prize collection. The daughter now all grown-up, married with a serious occupation at the CDC, no longer had room in her life for marbles. There was no longer room in her Mom's (my neighbor) garage to store them. The garage was about to get a makeover and my 6 year old son, Jack, was the chosen recipient of yesterday's treasured collection. 

Inside the box there were lots of different kinds of marbles. There were aggies, catseyes, peeries, steelys and boulders. I can just imagine the glee at winning one of these marbles during recess on the playground. I can also imagine the misery of the loss of a favorite shooter. If you played marbles when you were a kid, you know what I am talking about. If you didn't play, you missed out. 

Even though I had not given much thought to marbles since I was a kid  I could immediately appreciate how hard earned this collection was. I was an okay marble player. I once had a collection myself. Sadly, I lost my marbles long ago. No pun intended. 

I am positive that I was way more excited about this gift than my 6 year old.  Right away I put the marbles in a big glass candy jar so that I could admire them. Then, I put them on a dresser way up high and I went online to refresh my memory on marble games. I thought I should teach Jack how to play and get him to appreciate how fun they are before he could get to them and transform them into slingshot ammo. 

Here are a couple great things that I found. The first a segment from Made in America about marbles and 

the Ohio factory that still makes them. Did you know that factory marbles are created from 90% post consumer recycled glass?  Click the marbles below to watch the process.

To appreciate the artistry involved in the creation of a handmade glass marble take a look at this video below.

A note to my neighbor: If your daughter is ever feeling sentimental about the loss of her marbles, let her know that Jack did not take them for keepsies. Your daughter can always have the marbles back. After all, getting a collection like this, all at once, is sorta fudging. She earned them fair and square and they are still hers if she decides one day she wants them. Pinky promise. 

How to play marbles... 

Bon Fortune will carry marbles for the kids. We will also carry some really amazing handmade collector marbles for the kid in you (and me).