As I write this the eastern United States is having a mild December with little or no snow in New England. Will there be skiing in New Hampshire when you read this in February? Time will tell.

“Left foot red!” “Right hand blue!” Remember the game Twister? The one that left you and your girlfriend piled up together in knots? That game was co-invented some 50 years ago by Reyn Guyer. Reyn says he knew Twister was a winner when he played it with his girlfriend and “we couldn’t stop laughing.” Itbecame a long-time bestseller after it was featured on The Tonight Show in 1967 when Eva Gabor entwined host Johnny Carson onto the mat on live television. The game was recently inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame, a testament to Reyn and the toy’s enduring interest through the decades.

Another memorable invention of Reyn’s is the Nerf ball. Reyn has used his good fortune to support the Winsor Learning system, which helps teach remedial reading to dyslexic children.

Every good hardware store has a “go-to” person who always has the answer or solution no matter how simple or complex the problem. At the Brandywine (Pennsylvania) Ace hardware store the guy with the answers is Dick Bugbee. Dick, a sales associate, says he spends his day helping customers solve their problems, from plumbing, electrical, paint, tools, lawn and garden to nuts and bolts. “It is very gratifying to find a simple solution to a customer’s issue, and I learn something new every day,” he said. Other associates often ask him for help with simple calculations: proportions, areas, acreage and so on.

We are all familiar with death as a part of life and each month it seems there are fewer of us. This issue our thoughts and sympathies go to the families, friends and classmates of Bob Richmond, Ed Nelson, John Johnson, Brad Gorham, Harvey Epstein and Tony Pell.

—Bruce Sloane, 124 Hull School Road, Sperryville, VA 22740; (540) 987-8859; bsloane@wildblue.net