Hobbies seem to have gone the way of the dinosaur and dodo bird. I’m talking about real hobbies. We used to have time for hobbies. Not so much anymore. I remember some of my own youthful hobbies; things like leathercraft, model car building, and rock and coin collecting. We didn’t watch much television in those days, and computers and the internet were a distant invention. My grandmother used to knit and crochet. My mother and grandmother produced some beautiful hand-made quilts. My aunts were into genealogy and family history. I had friends who were into ceramics and stained glass. Most women I knew, including my own mother, had a sewing machine, and here’s something novel they knew how to use them. Men were tinkering with their cars. Cooking and baking were art forms. It was an era of creativity where people expressed themselves in these physically creative ways. It was all good clean fun. Well, times have changed. Most of these activities have given way to less physical activities, some creative and some not so creative. Blogging, surfing the internet, video gaming, watching American Idol, reading the latest Harry Potter or Twilight novels. And yes, there are still people scrapbooking, and quilting and cooking for pleasure. But it is different. Much different. I believe that as a society we are missing out on a great creative opportunity. If you have something that you are passionate about and would like to share it in an article we would like to hear from you. If your article is original and informative and well written, it may get published.