What Were They Thinking?

I am sitting here at my desk, gazing at a poor, misshapen monstrosity. Let me hasten to add, there are no mirrors within viewing vicinity.

Rather, it is a pathetic excuse for a "toy" from an Arby's kid's meal.

Yesterday, having ventured out on another "Goodwill (store) Tour" of the big city, we stopped for needed sustenance at a fast food restaurant. After ordering my usual chicken fingers, I found the truly unnerving portion of the meal to reside in the paper kid's meal bag. It looks to be a plastic tree, with six stumpy branches which ask a lot of the imagination, even for a child.

But the best part is the foliage. Twenty-odd plastic coated leaves are included in this prize bonanza. They are inscribed with ecological True/False facts, and boast holes with which to affix them to the tree branches.

Well, spray me with pollution and call me a conservative. This is just TOO MUCH FUN!

For example: "Biotic things are the nonliving parts of an environment." (False)

or,

"A good way to dispose of old motor oil is to pour it on the soil or in a waterway." (False again, if you can believe it)

I tried attaching all of the organs of photosynthesis (which are attractive shades of lime and turquoise) to the tree but the effect was less than aesthetically pleasing. It does not look like a tree in full leaf, and Autumn insists on coming early, and often.

Somehow, I don't think this a real winner in the amusement department. I believe the toy's designer came to this conclusion also, for within the tree's trunk is an opening. Within this opening is a red and white striped cylinder that can be rotated by a small dial on the back. Possibly the original intent was a barber pole. Lacking the wherewithal to flesh out that idea, they went with the next logical choice, a tree with politically correct leaves. (if anyone knows what the barber pole-thingy is for, please enlighten me. I am longing to know)

Even the Scooby Doo dog from McDonald's Happy Meal has more merit. His legs move, and his leaves don't fall off on the floor. He's been a back-up instrument of quiet play for the little boys in church for two years, now.

This is one of the first times my kids asked me if they could throw a "meal-toy" away. National Geographic's sponsorship aside, I do not wish to impale my foot on this hazard some night while stumbling to the kitchen for a drink of water. So, keeping in mind one of their ecological facts,

"Plastic cannot naturally decay and turn into compost,"

I shalll dispose of it in the burn pile.

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