Aug 18, 2010

Wand Worlds

So, I have this wand. Maybe you’ve seen these before. It’s a little longer than a foot, clear glass, filled with little beads and/or sparkly shapes floating in a clear liquid. You can twist it from end to end and the stuff will glide down on the inside.

I was probably 12 when I got my first one. I found it absolutely fascinating. Now mind you this is before cell phones and whatnot so it was easier to be fascinated. I would sit and watch the stuff inside for what felt like hours. There were various sized and colored semi-transparent spheres. The more plentiful smaller spheres were a pinkish red and the fewer larger variety were blue. I used to pretend that the larger spheres were planets and the smaller ones stars and that their universe, their ‘space’ was the liquid. They all had to be in constant movement for their gravity to work or all life would end. I was their god and it was my job to maintain this constant movement in order to sustain life throughout the universe. I had a whole routine worked out. You couldn’t just flip it quickly side to side or a bubble would clog up an end and countless lives would be lost. There were also miscellaneous shapes like stars and moons in various colors like gold and silver floating around, as well as glow-in-the-dark pieces, that I’m sure must have represented something, but I forget what now.

Anyway, I had these whole stories worked out in my head about how the people evolved and how one day they would figure out space exploration and discover that I existed and the meaning of life... Ok, so I spent a lot of time alone as a child, but still, I just find it interesting how such a simple thing with no buttons or screens or batteries could keep me so entertained for so long.

These days I play The Sims instead.