cutouts
News from Blueberry Hill reveals the creation of two jack-o’-lanterns over the period of the last several days. These were not made from the usual large, round, orange cousin of the squash but from a quarter inch sheet of wood composite material. The first was made about the middle of last week and is about three and a half feet around and is painted orange with a green stem. It has a frame attached to the rear of it to give it strength.
The reason for this creation is that it is to be used as a game for our church’s “trunk or treat” held in the church parking lot tonight. The legs that are attached to the frame causes the board to be at about a 35 degree angle when placed on a horizontal surface and this makes it good target board used for tossing ‘missiles’ into the cutouts for the eyes and/or mouth. These ‘missiles’ are ball-like affairs made with a soft squishy rubber material. The object of this game and the entire occasion is to simply help the young ones have fun and hand out the traditional candy in a safe environment.
After completing this game board, I made the ‘mistake’ of showing it to my younger daughter (YD). She then mentioned the fact that her son – and my grandson (GM3) – was having a party in their kindergarten class and this would be a great game for them. I took the ‘hint’. There was enough of the panel left to make a somewhat scaled down version of the first one. Both of the jack-o’-lantern similes looked fairly decent, the second even better than the first – from experience gained maybe?
Someone else was furnishing the ‘missiles’ for the game that went to the church but I had to scout around for some sort of throwing objects for GM3’s board. Calling around, I found a store that sold beanbags, the ideal ‘missile’ for this age group. These could be bought as singles or a pack of 12 – I got the pack since these could be used for other games. The pack label called them ‘bean’ bags but the small label on each one identified the contents as ‘100% sand’ – but that was OK too.
This morning YD picked up the game board and ‘bean’ bags and left GM4 and GM6 with us so she could help out with the party at kindergarten. When later picking the young ones back up, she said that the kids enjoyed the game and the party. This event was tinged with sadness because one of the kindergarten girls had passed away while at the after school care last Friday.
The young lady had a congenital heart defect that had been repaired earlier in her life and her parents thought everything was OK. While walking across the gym floor, she stopped, sat down, lay down on the floor and died right there. One of her relatives worked there and did CPR on the little girl but she did not revive – hospital personnel told them later that no amount of effort would have helped.
Life is so fragile and yet so many live their lives much like the jack-o’-lantern boards I built – just a façade with nothing behind it or like the pumpkin version with spiritual emptiness inside. The reason this is so sad is that Jesus made a way for us to have forgiveness and happiness that we can have for the choosing but so many choose to try to live without God. Humans without God make a mess of life every time. ec
The reason for this creation is that it is to be used as a game for our church’s “trunk or treat” held in the church parking lot tonight. The legs that are attached to the frame causes the board to be at about a 35 degree angle when placed on a horizontal surface and this makes it good target board used for tossing ‘missiles’ into the cutouts for the eyes and/or mouth. These ‘missiles’ are ball-like affairs made with a soft squishy rubber material. The object of this game and the entire occasion is to simply help the young ones have fun and hand out the traditional candy in a safe environment.
After completing this game board, I made the ‘mistake’ of showing it to my younger daughter (YD). She then mentioned the fact that her son – and my grandson (GM3) – was having a party in their kindergarten class and this would be a great game for them. I took the ‘hint’. There was enough of the panel left to make a somewhat scaled down version of the first one. Both of the jack-o’-lantern similes looked fairly decent, the second even better than the first – from experience gained maybe?
Someone else was furnishing the ‘missiles’ for the game that went to the church but I had to scout around for some sort of throwing objects for GM3’s board. Calling around, I found a store that sold beanbags, the ideal ‘missile’ for this age group. These could be bought as singles or a pack of 12 – I got the pack since these could be used for other games. The pack label called them ‘bean’ bags but the small label on each one identified the contents as ‘100% sand’ – but that was OK too.
This morning YD picked up the game board and ‘bean’ bags and left GM4 and GM6 with us so she could help out with the party at kindergarten. When later picking the young ones back up, she said that the kids enjoyed the game and the party. This event was tinged with sadness because one of the kindergarten girls had passed away while at the after school care last Friday.
The young lady had a congenital heart defect that had been repaired earlier in her life and her parents thought everything was OK. While walking across the gym floor, she stopped, sat down, lay down on the floor and died right there. One of her relatives worked there and did CPR on the little girl but she did not revive – hospital personnel told them later that no amount of effort would have helped.
Life is so fragile and yet so many live their lives much like the jack-o’-lantern boards I built – just a façade with nothing behind it or like the pumpkin version with spiritual emptiness inside. The reason this is so sad is that Jesus made a way for us to have forgiveness and happiness that we can have for the choosing but so many choose to try to live without God. Humans without God make a mess of life every time. ec
posted by mreddie | 10:20 PM
7 Comments:
So sad to hear of the young one who passed away. I know her family and friends are heartbroken! Someone needs to make sure they know they can see her again. I am sure she is with Jesus!
Moist eyes here.
And here.
Betty G
I find the death of one so young as difficult to accept. From a logical and even theological view, I understand. Yet, my heart still cries out whenever I learn of such a death.
Hi Mr. Eddie ~~ Well done on making the games and I am glad they were a success. So very sad when a child dies, I can understand better when an old person (like myself) dies, as we have had a good many years that a child has not had.
I hope you get your wife's passport
worked out very soon. Thanks for your comments, not too many out
looking for treats. I even bought sweets, but darn it, now I'm stuck
with them !!! Take care, Regards, Merle.
Wow, how tragic about the little girl. Especially at such a precious age. Though I guess there is no good age. Prayers for her family.
The game you made sounds fun. I can picture it, as my kids have a similar tossing game.
ancient one - It was so sad but they do have that hope of seeing her again.
AC - To make it even worse, she was an only child.
itsboopchile - The children seem to be doing better with the tragedy than the workers that were there when it happened.
SSN - It just seems out of order for the parents to be burying the young and not the other way around.
merle - Even though I was not there to see the young ones play the games, the reports I got back were very good. We are stuck with some sweets also and they will either go to waste or to waist. :)
kila - The parents of the little girl had signed up to bring something for the party that Wednesday after the tragedy and they showed up with what they were to bring and even stayed a while. This really showed a great deal of emotional strength. ec
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