Rolls

When you were a child, you found the middle of the toilet paper roll fascinating. Maybe you sent a marble through it, or a Hot Wheels car. You might have even taped two tubes together and imagined they were binoculars. It was a simple thing, but it was limitless in your imagination.

Not long after, you upgraded to the paper towel roll. Longer than the t.p. roll, the tube in the center could become a spyglass, a telescope, a periscope, or a longer ride for your toy car.

Then came the day your eyes grew ten sizes bigger than normal. It was the day you saw the tube at the center of a roll of wrapping paper.

Your brain went crazy with ideas. It said to you, “Look at the size of that thing.”

You didn’t care about the wrapping paper that came before, which died at your hands for birthdays or possibly Christmases, when it was ripped and shredded and quickly discarded. What really mattered then was the giant cardboard tube which you discovered hiding in the center of the wrapping paper roll.

Whether you made it into a tunnel for your Littlest Pet Shop toys, or a Lightsaber, or a super long track for Hot Wheels, you knew this was the best present you ever had. It was better than many of the previous presents you unwrapped. And why? Because it fueled your imagination.

Isn’t it funny how some of the best toys were found objects? And wouldn’t it be funny if some smart parent wrapped up the wrapping paper roll tube to give that to you instead of the fancy toy?