Toyland

"Toyland, toyland
little girl and boy land
when you dwell within it
you are ever happy there!

Childhood toyland
mystical merry toyland
once you pass it's borders
you can never return again!"
- Perry Como




Today was the 22nd Annual Big Texas Toy Run. Benefiting the Mental Health-Mental Retardation (MHMR) of Tarrant County, Dallas MetroCare, and other children's charities in the Metroplex, thousands of toys are distributed to underprivileged and challenged children. The unique way in which these toys are collected is what makes me smile.




Thousands (and I am not kidding, they were expecting 70,000 today) of motorcyclist meet up in downtown Grapevine, Dallas, and Fort Worth. At exactly 1:00 pm the Grapevine rally heads south down 360, Dallas west on I-30, and FW east on I-30 to eventually meet up in the middle at the Arlington Convention Center. Here the toys or cash is collected from each biker to add to the toy drive. We saw trikes, huge plush toys, gift wrapped boxes, and sporting goods all strapped to the back of the motorcycles. While most riders were wearing their leather to hide from the winter chill, some were showing their spirit with Santa outfits, reindeer horns, elf suits, and garland decked on the bikes.




This event is known to be "One of a Kind...This run is one of a kind, it has no official sponsorship from any source and is the only run known to begin in three cities simultaneously and converge in one place." And no matter the weather "This is a rain or shine event." In the past the riders have fought sleet, snow and freezing temperatures. Their thought is 'Santa does it, so we should too.'







We watched the southbound bikers from a bridge over 360. They all waved at our boys, who also wore their Santa hats.I'll be anxious to hear the true count of participants from today. We had a full 10 minutes of non-stop bikers pass under us at highway speed...and that was only a 1/3 of the gang!