It's Like Legos

My son is a big fan of Legos- He's got quite the collection, too. Mostly vehicles, Mars Mission, Star Wars, Aqua Raiders, Batman. There was a time when he needed my help to build these things and I was all too happy to oblige. He would dump the pieces in a big colorful pile on the floor, open up the instructions and we'd sit together criss-cross-applesauce in the middle of it all counting Lego circles and glancing back and forth between the picture on the box (which is usually ripped beyond recognition by the excitement of getting started), the pictures in the instructions booklet, and the connected pieces as they begin to take form.

But all too quickly the time of needing Dad's help in this process has passed and I've been relegated to the proud parent who watches the operation from a perch on our couch, occasionally setting down my coffee as I am called on to rake the carpet for a missing light saber handle or booster flame. I have to admit I really miss being down on on the floor where the action is- for a couple of hours reliving the simple joys and occasional frustration that come with being an anxious kid.

Well, it seems I'll have my chance again. W&M bought a HUGE Lego set called Cascade Server and guess who gets to play with it... Yes, that's right! Mom, more Ovaltine please!

So now we have our Lego set and we've dumped the pieces on the floor. We have our nice picture on the box, a beautiful suite of designs provided by mStoner. (Ok, so maybe we ripped the box a little in our excitement, but can you blame us? It's been 7 years!) So, where are the instructions? Here's where the anology turns just a little. Cascade Server has tons of Legos and there are instructions for building some really cool things, but not exactly the cool thing that we see on our box. So Global Image is helping us create our instructions. Grrr... but I want to play with our toy now!

“Patience child,” my mother would say.

We could probably jump right in and slap something together that looks like the picture on the box, but I imagine within a few minutes of playing the wings would fall off and when we'd try to squeeze the wings back into place the tail would get loose or the cockpit would pop out of place and we'd raise our fists and stomp our feet and toss what is left in the basket where toys we never play with go to die.

Building our CMS the right way is worth the time it takes and if we have patience I know we'll have something special. Maybe it will sit on our dresser in the toy hall of fame- the first toy we see when we open our eyes in the morning.

But wait, I haven't mentioned the best part about Lego toys- when you are tired of playing with whatever you constructed, you can transform it. A car can become a boat or maybe a ship or maybe even the ever famous, most awesome flying boat/car with triple boosters and rocket launchers! I think with Cascade Server the fun is really just starting and it doesn't end July 31st.

posted by Mark Windley