The Stepping Stone

I was going to write something profound in this blog entry.

Like about how I am on the verge of making a giant scientific discovery, proving that the children of Red Hill Township have organized to overthrow us, including the establishment of a chain of command, code words/slurs and special ways of communicating through high-pitched crying sounds. Yesterday, I swear, I saw a three-year-old salute another with his little chubby hand. Today after what seemed like a high-pitched cry, they all mobbed one of our volunteers.

These hypothesis are real and need serious exploration, but in this blog I want to tell you about something more pressing.

Today I saw the coolest toy I’ve ever seen, and according to the Internet, it is exclusive to Africa. It’s called the “Push-Pull Wire Car.” A child in the township let me take his for a spin and I must say it handled pretty nicely. The car was made of wire and about the size of two shoe boxes. It had a long wire sticking up from its front axle with a steering wheel. As I pushed the car, I turned the wheel and its tires turned. I got into one accident but still it was better than X-box.

I only have one question: Can I get rims on mine?

Tops spun off strings also seem big with township boys along with imitating Michael Jackson—yes, the crotch grab lives on in South Africa. They love soccer but seem to have no ball. Yesterday, I saw boys play a mini soccer game by kicking a tennis ball up and down a small cement patio.

Check out the wire car at these links:
http://www.wunderphoto.rilinger.com/wunderphoto/children/zulu_boy_with_wire_car.jpg
http://www.highlightskids.com/Science/Stories/images/SS1105_wireCars2.jpg