It was the summer of 2007. The news came on CNN…Jane recalled it all started with the Thomas the Train Tank engines. The toys made in China had excessive levels of lead in the signature blue paint used. But that’s okay, she thought to herself. Her precious is a girl, no Thomas the trains in this house. Whew!
Then other recalls of toys, also made in China, slowly trickled in each day on her newsfeed: the Easy Bake Oven severed fingers, the Mag Stix Magnetic Building Sets choked kids, and then it hit home- Elmo. The red furry friend was now a foe. How many times had her precious put that in her mouth? Made in China. Lead based paint. And the lists went on from Fisher Price and Matel.
This is when the floor slowly slipped out from under Jane. Jane realized that she had to protect her precious. And to Jane this meant vacating the playroom of all toys; plastic and otherwise made in the United States. This left a bare playroom as you may well think. But she had the ability to repopulate it with all American made toys, specifically wood. Wood kitchen and wood food from Melissa and Doug replaced the otherwise plastic kind. Puzzles were good and made of wood.
It did not stop there. Again Jane was slowly becoming obsessed with anything made of plastic or made in China and its’ need to be eradicated. All kitchen utensils and dishes were gone and replaced with appropriate made in the USA items. The house was repainted with “green” paint. The perfectly good carpeting was hauled away and replaced with “green” wood flooring. Even the PVC plumbing throughout the house was replaced with copper piping where it could be. Anything to protect her precious. But she did not have the heart to tear out the newly laid synthetic grass or the Little Tikes Playland of fun in the backyard. It stands alone in the backyard, a sort of icon to the Recall Summer of 2007.
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