Remember this, Marbles is all about those you keep

How many times have you heard someone say that they were losing their marbles? It may be frightening to say the least, but for most of us, it only comes as an expression of momentary frustration There may come a time when this could be more of a concern, but let's hope that remains a "distant" worry.

However, when I was in grade school, we played marbles as a means of passing the time before school and at recess. We had bags to carry our glass wares to and from school; some, I recall, had the local bank's logo on it. We'd start by digging the hole using the heel of our shoes and rotate until we had it perfect. Then we'd set up a line about 10 feet away from which we would pitch our marbles. You'd flick them towards the hole with your knuckle down or play "bootsie shoves" with your foot, kicking those little spheres closer to their destination. Games would go until the bell would ring signaling the time to "line up" for our parade into school. Countless games were played at various sites around the school yard or at home along the driveway. The last marble in would determine the winner and with it, a "hole" full of marbles, cat's eyes, poppers and others. Each of us had favorites too, that made winning paramount. Some you'd win, some you'd lose, and that was about how we viewed it. Tomorrow would be another day to replay for that favorite, lost marble.

Marbles, like so many of the games from our youth, served us well. We learned rules and hopefully, followed them; we developed physical and mental skills that could be applied later in life; but more importantly, we had fun. And as I reflect back, I feel that it wasn't so much about the marbles I lost, but most about those I didn't lose. I sure hope I have enough of those to keep playing for a long, long time!