Tonka Wonderland (Volume I)

Over the years, I had many awesome Tonka vehicles. They're still in storage in Elk Rapids, Mich., up in a beat–up, yellowed, garage apartment contraption. They haven't been used regularly (or at all?) in about 25 years, but with some TLC they could be up and running.

At first, it was the homemade sandbox in Clarkston, Mich. I don't really remember many kids playing in the sand with me. I do remember the neighbor girl, though. I'm told that I was very mean to her. Apparently, I was bossy, especially in my sandbox. I only allowed anyone to use one toy at a time. The neighbor girl was no exception. Strange enough, I could use as many of the vehicles at any one time. I had a job to do!

Dad once built a really cool house for all of the trucks. It was cool. You cold walk inside it and put things away. At a young age, I was organized, and the garage/house was no exception. Each item had its very own place.

The garage was moved up to north with us. It was placed in a woods filled with Maple trees. But the ground was sand. Excellent sand for building a huge community. There were places for everything: small buildings, junk yards for old and beat–up Tonkas, etc. There were many other kids around who would join me in my construction endeavors. Some would even show up when I wasn't around, but I could always tell someone else had been there.