Tokens

They're tiny and seemingly meaningless- but in their day these little babies were the gateway to the rest of the world beyond my own neighborhood. They have always held a fascination for me. The first time I saw one was on my father’s dresser with his change. I remember that I didn't need one until I was over 6. I still recall the slogan- "Little enough to ride for free- little enough to ride your knee."

As a coin collector I used to shun these little guys- but I always made sure to save one or two whenever the NYC tokens were changed. I have given them away, one by one, over the years, to friends and my kids. My wife even has one of the older little ones as a necklace. In 1967 I went by "D" train into Manhattan and shopped at Macy's on 34th Street for Christmas using one of these same tokens.

The best part of holding one of these in your hands is the unknown, untold story that each could tell. Look at the Honolulu token for instance. I see a sailor on liberty in pre-World War II Hawaii. The trolley probably took him from the docks to the bar district or maybe he even had a girlfriend. Where was this token on the morning of December 7th, 1941? Oh, how I wish these guys could talk!

The Baltimore and the South Carolina tokens are from the days of segregation and were once held in the hands of white, blue collar workers as well as the African American passengers, who, after handing over the fare had to "move to the rear of the bus." How odd that they could share the tokens but not the seats...

The Miami token recalls a time when people from New York went down to Florida for the winter. While there they used the streetcars and rode alongside the Cuban maids and hotel workers. I have a picture of my mother's family in Miami in the 1940's and can't help wonder if my mom; or even my great granddad Max; used one of these on the way to Neiman Marcus to shop. Maybe even this one!

The delicate designs, the flourishes at the edges and the delightful cutouts in the centers give these tokens all the grace of real coins. They are hallmarks to the past.

You can find these little beauties in almost any coin shop- usually in a box marked "Special" and selling for less than a buck. I like to turn them over in my hand and read the inscriptions and spin stories in my head about them, where they were and who used them. Not bad for less than a buck.

The Matchbox Fleet

The following was forwarded by Edward Rothbacker, a crewmember who served on the USS Milwaukee a few years before I did. Ed is also the driving force behind Pianos for Patriots, a group which provides free music lessons for the children of soldiers currently deployed. You may contact him at;

https://www.facebook.com/Piano4Patriots

The Matchbox Fleet

79-year-old Phil Warren from the UK spent 62 years to build this incredible fleet of 432 ships. All vessels are built entirely of matchsticks and boxes of wooden matches. The collection includes nearly 370 American and 60 British ships.

Although now 79 years of age, he began creating his first boat in 1948, when he was only 17. He uses a razor blade, tweezers and sandpaper to carve the pieces and boxes, then assembles them with balsa wood glue. In total more than 650,000 matchsticks are used to create an amazing collection of 1:300 scale models. He has even added 1,200 aircraft, which give an ​​even more realistic appearance to the decks of the aircraft carriers.

The Fleet Is In.

The Subs are running a screening pattern.

And all of the aircrft are ready for launch.

Here is the Admiral reviewing the fleet.

And this is Mr. Warren at work on one his ships.

Items of Interest

There are so many "items of interest" in my home. Note that I don't use the term "value", although there are some. But the things that draw the most attention and comment are often the simplest of the many items that are strewn about, cluttering my desk, the end tables and even the chairs. And some defy an explanation as to how they arrived on scene. Take, for instance, this 1958 four cent Postcard; where did I get it? Why was it tucked into my Bar Mitzvah Bible? I have no idea.

The thing is, I have a roomful of stuff like this. I have old Texaco and Esso (Exxon) maps which I obtained while riding my bicycle up and down Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn. My brother and I hit every gas station between Avenue W and Avenue H for maps of the East Coast, Southeast Coast, etc. It's how I really learned geography, and also why I can still name all the coastal states in order.

I have old coins, soda bottles, a seltzer bottle that I "liberated" from a soda truck in 1969, various letters and objects of art, small statues and some guitars; which I do play, though not as well as I'd like.

And then there's the issue of the stamps. I have them, both foreign and domestic, crammed into every available small wooden box, and some, like these two, actually stay tucked into picture frames that depict events applicable to the times in which they were used. The Project Mercury stamp was actually purchased by me after John Glenn made his historic 3 orbits around the Earth in 1962 and stays tucked in the frame of a John Glenn Commemorative Plaque. The World War Two "Victory" stamp probably belonged to Mom, and is likewise tucked into the frame of a photo of her taken around that time.

I just wonder from time to time how these things survived the years I was away from them; years when they were tucked away in a trunk, sitting in some rented garage in my old neighborhood of Brooklyn, while I wandered about the rest of the world.

I don't always have an explanation for where I acquired certain things, like the Baltimore Fire Department jacket button, the silver jacketed .38 calibre bullet, or the green iron vise that sits on the floor in my bonus room. But I like all these things, they add color and flavor to my days and speak to who I am. Just one more " item of interest."