Toy Soldiers

I played with plastic soldiers a lot when I was a boy, they were one of my favorite toys. They are one of the few things I can really remember playing with as a child.

My son got one of those fast food meals that comes with a toy, and in this was a bag of plastic soldiers. I've spent some time with them.

For awhile I had played with the idea of buying a bag of soldiers for myself, but when I look at these little green figures, I feel that desire completely satisfied. They are the soldiers I've been wanting to find.

There are four of these guys, and not one of them has a weapon of any kind. No rifles, no machine guns, no handguns, no mortars, no bazookas, no hand grenades, not even any ammunition. I don't know if their disarmament is by design, or just an accident, but I like it very much.

They each carry a canteen on their belt. One has a mine detector; one holds a pair of binoculars to his eyes with his right hand and has raised his left hand as if to signal, I see it;  one is speaking into a walkie-talkie (he also has a pair of binoculars around his neck); and one wears a satchel and is stretching out his right arm as if he's about to pull it forward to signal, Follow me!

When I was a boy, the toy soldiers fought elaborate battles, bombs and bullets flying everywhere. But these four haven't come to fight. One searches for objects underground. One looks and signals that something's been found. One communicates a message to forces that are out of sight. And one, carrying a satchel, stands ready to signal, Let's go!

The battles are over, the toy soldiers survived the war, they put their weapons down. Now the toy soldiers are about beginning something else. One will seek the buried traps and treasures. One will find the place to go, and see that the journey awaits. One will communicate with the forces hidden in the woods nearby, so they can gather and all together join along the way ahead. One will carry the journal in his satchel, and he will know the right moment to signal, Now!