Within days that YoYo was worn almost to a nub of its former self from hours of practicing "Walk the Dog" on the hard concrete New York neighborhood sidewalks. Scarred and battered, it was soon retired in favor of a succession of "Tournament" YoYos in different colors. Somehow that Blue and White was always the favorite.
Once upon a later time ('39 - '41) the young guy hung out at the local Woolworth "Five and Dime" store Saturday mornings. At 9:00 a.m. it was time for the Duncan demonstrators to mesmerize the local kids with their magical demonstrations of YoYo skills with the well-known popular tricks, but then throwing the two-handed "Loop the Loop" and two-handed "Reach for the Moon"! Sheesh! The young guy didn't know it then, but it would be fifty years before he would see another two-handed YoYo Master - and that would be Dennis McBride at Chico, CA in 1989. Radical!
After those Saturday sessions, he would badger the Philipino Duncan demonstrators to show him "one more trick" and coach him in some of the more subtle secrets and techniques - usually while they were waiting for a streetcar to get to their next location. He won his first two contests in that period; the prize in those neighborhood contests was a sleeveless sweater with the Duncan YoYo Winner patch emblazoned at the chest. And toward the end of that period in a five city Saturday morning theater stage contest at Freeport, Long Island, he threw over 100 "Loops" in a tie-breaker to walk (ride?) off with a Monarch "Silver King" bicycle: balloon-tired, knee action front wheel, steer horn handle bar (with spreader) bicycle, complete with headlight, frame tank with built-in battery powered horn, and rear luggage rack with battery powered tail light. Holy Moly folks! That was a day for any depression kid to remember.
Years went by. War time, college, family and career diverted his attention. The young man's children remember he would show them a trick or two when they had their own when they and their friends had their own YoYos in the '50's, but his recollection of that is poor.
And once upon the latest time (1988-present), he finally got back to it. He got back to the fun now known as "The State of YO". Semi-retired, looking for fun things to do, he admired and collected YoYos from many sources, resurrected long neglected skills, designed and fabricated new YoYo types for himself and others. YoYo shows for youth groups and service clubs, with professional appearances at schools, fairs, malls, and conventions expanded his YoYo fun and activity. And for a decade now he's enjoyed a wide circle of wonderful friends, male and female, children, adult, and aged in YoYo activity. We should all be so lucky!
Once upon a future time . . . But that's another story.
The fun and learning continue in The State of YO (apologies here to Tommy S.)