Remember how your dad had to walk to school uphill, against the falling snow, BOTH ways?
Well, I never had it that tough. But, as a Minnesotan kid, I learned to survive in the snow, thank you. Among the things I had to do was-- you might want to sit down for this-- make my own snowballs.
Yep. Self-made snowballs were all I knew as a child. In a world before waterproof winter wear, I had to bend over and pick up snow and mush it into a ball by myself. Then-- if you can believe it-- I had to do it again to make another one. By now my gloves were more like soaking-wet sponges. Still, if I wanted in the snowball fight, I had to squish through the pain. How did I make it?
That's the same story I told my kids when they saw a snowball maker at the store this week. A snowball tool?! Red and plastic, it looked like an over-sized meatball maker. I told the kids "meatball" is exactly what Grandpa would compare my brain to if I spent a dime on the doohickey.
And, if you're wondering, it wasn't a dime. Not even close. If I hadn't been stopped by principle, the price would have been the deal-breaker. The going rate for the handy gadget? $9.99. Or, about $9.99 more than I was willing to pay for it.
Snowball-making tools. What next? Snowball fight helmets? Or do they have those too?
(Copyright 2008 by KARE. All Rights Reserved.)