The Outstater
Yo-Yoing: It’s Coming Back
THIS IS THE BEST NEWS I expect to hear this year: An elementary school in my town has begun a yo-yo club.
Those of you in my generation will remember that every summer the yo-yo professional (18-year-olds primarily) would come to town. These pimple-faced teen-agers were celebrities to us. They were actually paid to travel around the state spinning the newest yo-yo models. Can you believe it?
I can see in my mind’s eye the day the “Duncan man” arriving at our neighborhood hardware store. I could not imagine a more glamorous and exciting profession. He was able to perform “Walk the dog” and “Around the World,” not to mention the impossibly difficult “Brain Twister,” “Trapeze” and “Loop the Loop.”
We were amazed.
Please know there was a lot more to yo-yoing than the hours of practice when you should have been doing chores or studying. Choosing the correct yo-yo and properly waxing the string were considered secret skills on my block, as was knowing the finger and string placement for the more advanced tricks. There was vigorous but somewhat arbitrary trading of yo-yos.
Now I learn that yo-yoing dates back to 500 B.C. Greece. There are yo-yo websites and world championships. You can spend as much as $300 for a competition ball-bearing yo-yo.
The principal says that club membership is exploding. “When they learn a new trick, you can just watch the confidence level boost,” says a teacher. “You can see the excitement in their eyes.”
My faith in our nation’s youth is restored. — tcl
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