As long as we are sharing stories about exposure to, and interest in,
mechanical music, I can tell you all that, were it not for my father, I
most likely would not have had any connection to the hobby.  Why is
that? Because he began taking us to Tilden's Carousel in Berkeley and
to the Musee Mechanique and the Museum at Sutro's and to Playland at
the Beach in San Francisco when we were preschoolers!  And what was his
fascination based on?  It was because, when he was no more than pre-
school age himself, somebody in the family took him to an ice cream
parlor where there was an upright disc player, and they stuck a coin in
and let him stand up close to the vibrating case.  He told us that his
whole body vibrated with the music.  Before he died, in his late
seventies, he used to retell that story and it still moved him!  It
still awed him and made him cry with the memory.

I have no idea whether my grandson will be crazy about mechanical music
when he grows up, but I sure as shooting am not going to leave it to
chance.  At three years old, he gets full support from me for being
appreciative, curious, and sometimes (to the detriment of my brain)
rabidly persistent about a particular tune.  We have had more fun
sharing this than money can buy.

My view of keeping children away from your collections: shame on you!

Claudine Jones
San Francisco Bay Area