Remember the No Fear tee shirts of the mid-90s? People across the country emblazoned a message on their backs:

He who dies with the most toys, still dies.

It seems we failed to take our own trendy advice. The onslaught of palm pilots, tiny earpieces for cell phones, and translucent computers colored to match your home décor all point to the undeiable reality of 21st century America. We like toys. And the faster, shinier, and more exclusive the toy is, the more we like it.

Men and women were probably no different from the beginning. Traders showed off abacuses with better beads. Minstrels conspicuously strummed lutes with imported strings and intricate carvings. Fred Flintstone had a better bowling ball than Barney Rubble. To quote Kurt Vonnegut: "And so it goes."

In this relentless pursuit without end, it’s hard not to wonder if just maybe this insatiable need in mankind isn’t for more than just toys . . .