Just for Laughs: The Erector Set

 The other day, my dad and I were working on rebuilding my engine. The kids were in the garage playing.  After putting away the groceries, my mom decided to come out and play with Lindsey and Joseph, who were building things with their plastic erector set. Joseph asked my mom to build him a motorcycle and she agreed. As I helped my dad clean parts I heard my mom begin to voice her challenges with building her motorcycle and I had to smile. I have tried to build with those toys before and it is only the persistent that prevail. Let it just be known, plastic bolts do not lock into plastic nuts! You tighten them up, move the item and they begin to loosen, thus causing much confusion as your parts swing around and get misaligned. And you NEED you pieces perfectly aligned or you cannot follow the instructions. You see, the instruction manual shows the motorcycle being built in 7 steps. But within each step, is about 7 steps! I assume they condensed the steps in this manner to keep the instruction manual from becoming the size of a phone book!

Well finally, my mom was stumped and I for some reason, (though knowing full well what I was getting into!) became compelled to go over and try and help her. I think there’s something inside of a person (at least me) that when someone is having a hard time figuring something out, I feel challenged by the possible impossibility and I’m compelled to help. I think it’s like when someone loses something. With little kids something seems to always be lost and even though, finding that little trinket toy they got at the dentist isn’t necessary, you find yourself wandering about the playroom in search of it. It has to be somewhere! ... doesn't it? (-: (This must be an adult impulse though, for usually the child who lost the toy, is not looking for it)

Anyway! I sat down by my mom and tried to solve her motorcycle troubles but couldn’t get the pieces positioned right so that I could follow the directions! But I was not to be out done by a bucket full of plastic! I simply started over. Soon my mom had to leave to make dinner, but I continued to use every ounce of my concentration to follow those seemingly endless red arrows that weave back and forth and around one another to get through their desired holes. Eventually, the kids began to clean up toys around me at Dad’s instruction but I remained focused. I finally made it through step five and I’d, had enough! My motorcycle looked well enough like a motorcycle and I called it quits. The kids, especially Joseph, were delighted. But before anyone could play with it, (since the minute you roll it across the floor, those plastic bolts start coming loose from their plastic nuts) I had to go inside and show my mom that we had not been out done by the erector set! 

Just follow these 7 steps and you too can have a plastic motorcycle!

 We were stumped on step 2 for a while! I see why... there were nine steps in step 2!

Look at this! Ages 5+ (-: 

As Joesph would say "Tada!"