Experiencing the wonder that is magical tennis shoes reminds me of a friend who, years ago, acquired some new, beautiful earrings. If I recall correctly, they were diamond studs, but that doesn't really matter that much. The point is, she kept her children in line for an entire day by threatening to take the earrings out if they didn't behave-- so they behaved.
The last time I was in Utah, in October, I went to church with the friend I was staying with (which was heaven-- I connect well with her children and enjoy them very much). In the pew in front of us was a small boy, maybe two or three years old, who was being entertained by a woman who looked maybe a generation older than me. She had a necklace which consisted of a gold chain and a lovely round pendant, and she let the boy examine it to his heart's content, which took most of the meeting.
It reminded me of part of Thomas Moore's Utopia, which I read during my freshman year of college (in translation, to my disappointment-- I hadn't realized that Moore, despite being an Englishman, had written in Latin). In the ideal society described in his book, gold and silver and precious gems are not valued as they were in Moore's time-- basically as money. It wasn't that they were completely valueless-- the adults thought they made fairly decent playthings for small children. You know: shiny, sturdy, just a thing you have laying around, so sure, let the kids play with them.
And of course we haven't quite reached this ideal-- more because electronic forms of money have replaced precious metals than because we are reaching ideal levels of equality-- but seeing this sister just reminded me of that part of Moore's story, and I went up to her afterward to tell her how lovely it was to watch her. She was pleased to hear that, which made me pleased that I had shared.
It is the sort of thing that makes me wonder if I should get more shiny things. I'm still thinking about it.
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