By Leonard Gray / L’Observateur / June 2, 1999

No, I haven’t seen the new “Star Wars.”Already, the movie, considered the escapist flick of the season, is in trouble. Websites of SW fans complain about everything, from continuityproblems to the unsatisfactory ending. I say if the worst thing they haveto complain about is the content of a wholly-fictional movie, they have it pretty good.

I like “Star Wars” and all the sequels, prequels and merchandising. No, Idon’t have any “action figures.” When I was a child, we called those things”dolls.” Even G.I. Joe was a little suspect.What amazes me is that today’s children appear to be so jaded when it comes to what entertains them. Movies and TV shows have to be filledwith non-stop action, explosions, fire and blood to keep their attention.

And still they get bored.

When I was eight or nine, just turn me loose on the Erector Set or the Lincoln Logs or the toy train (which came with a liquid you dropped into the engine to produce “real smoke”) and I was satisfied for hours.

I remember how amazed I was to discover Legos.

Games now have to be high-tech and, not only electronic but computerized.

Has anyone checked the sales of Monopoly games lately? When’s the last time you saw a group of children playing rummy or hearts or maybe blackjack? When I was at LSU, “Pong” hit the public consciousness. This was anextremely simple electronic game which resembled ping-pong on a screen.

I never got the hang of “Pac-Man.”Nowadays, of course, there’s “Doom” and “Duke Nuke-Em” and similar games where you can take your extremely powerful gun in hand and chop a monster in half, along with all the blood and gore.

As far as I know, “Tomb Raider” is still pretty big, but the adventure for me is figuring out the instructions. I’ve had the game for more than a yearand have still never gotten past the second stage. I’ve been killing thatsame mangy tiger for months now.

I collect comic books and I’m not ashamed of it. However, the days of”Little Lulu,” “Sad Sack” and some good war stories or westerns are long gone. There are more vampires, hyper-violence and semi-nudity in comicsthan ever imagined 30 years ago.

There was a time, not that long ago, when children could amuse themselves for a Saturday afternoon with nothing more than a box of crayons, a cardboard box and an old blanket. Toss in some molded, plasticArmy men and you were in business.

Am I getting old? You bet. I can read the violent comics and play “Doom”but I’m one terrific baby-sitter. I can find amusement for children in thesimplest of things, from a tree to climb to a mud puddle to splash in.

Leonard Gray is a reporter for L’Observateur

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