The Little World

Hey, you!

I said look at me! Look at the model I made! Look at the train layout I made! Look at the dollhouse I made!

Ain’t I the most fabulous thing you’ve ever seen?

Disregard the fact that the model battleship is a kit and the only skill I have shown is not gluing my hand to the table. Take no notice of the pre-made houses that dot the plaster landscape – those houses represent a great deal of skill in hiding the credit card statement from the spouse so that she don’t know how much they really cost. At least the dollhouse is entirely original that is the same as  all the others in the shop.

Pride in one’s appearance, accomplishments, ancestry, and possessions is a good and a natural thing. We all have it..or we want to have it. My family always had it, and they were better than yours…Ahem…

If we don’t have it we are antisocial monsters, likely to be either coddled or jailed…or both. Honesty may be a two-edged sword, but pride is a three-cornered bayonet, and if you push it into the face of a French Hussar’s horse he will fall off backwards from the saddle. Trust me on this…

Pride at the model exhibition can be painful if it makes a lot of noise about its entry. Worse if the thing wins a certificate or prize. The only saving thing is time – every prize-winning entry this year becomes the detritus of next year. Little Worlders who try for the same acclaim two years running with the same object will discover this. Boston beans and Mexican beans are delicious, but Has beens have no flavour.

The saying  ” Pride Goeth Before A Fall ” is incomplete. The second half of it is ” And Here’s Hoping We’ll Be Lucky Enough To See It “. Most times we’re not. At least not in the Little World. Wise model makers exhibit, reap the acclaim, then sell the models off to someone else and invest the money in the next project. Remember that it’s harder for people to hit you with the anti-aircraft missile of criticism if they’re firing at your nose than if they’re firing at your tailpipe.

Note : Thanx and a tip of the Hatlo hat to Eric who let slip a pregnant phrase about anger management at a recent WA Model Collectors meeting. You were an inspiration.