CHRIS ENGLE
Thanksgiving break as a kid was spent with my grandparents, who lived on a block of identical brick houses in a suburb of Detroit. The highlight was a trip to Toys “R” Us — a mind-blowing metropolis of playthings for a country kid — to pick out my own birthday present.
I had an hour to scour the store and take inventory of what I could buy with the birthday cash crammed in my pocket. RC cars were too pricey. Board games were affordable but they weren’t toys. I usually landed in the Lego aisle because I could build the set then combine the pieces with my existing collection back home. On top of that, my grandpa — a retired pipe fitter for a steel mill — was liable to kick in a few extra bucks toward a practical choice like Legos.