I’ve been pondering this over the last few days..

Could it be that society has moved away from hobbies in general, the hobbies where you need to build, paint & finish something? Not only rockets, but R/C plane kits are becoming scarce as well, due to the ‘Ready To Fly’ models out there.. Their quality is getting pretty good, and there are 101+ planes to choose from now. It seems as well, the basic plastic models are also becoming scarce.. No one has time or patience.

I’m also pondering the thought that parents don’t want to have the responsibility of doing this with tier kids, helping their kids, and least of all, having to deal with the kids & others when something does go wrong. As in, our society is now pretty quick to come down on someone for little mistakes, and “Ole Jeremiah will sue if his window gets broke”. We dare let our kids out anymore, due to the seemingly increasing violence & badnes against them. Anythign deemed 'dangerous' is being pulled, anythign that can potentially damage or maim.. (If I can sue McD's for my own stupidity [hot coffe in a lap] then certainly I can be sued for an accidental misfire / misguided launch..)

So, Estes made a commitment, and [proverbially] put their eggs in a basket.. A gold lined basket, just to have the tables turn. Could it be as well, a xenophobic society would see a few kids launching rockets, and ‘Martha’ would go running to the local authorities bragging about uncovering a terrorist training cell?! (Look at that article, about the airliner “almost being shot down with a model rocket”) Estes are stuck. They've commited to much to the big box stores. Who don't want them anymore, and the smaller 'mom & pop shops' are fewer & fewer. Never mind they couldn't possibley sell 10K+ kits..

And, I’m sure we’ve all noticed the local hobby shop has either closed, or has turned into a scrapbook store / educational toy store.. But, electronic stores, and ‘e-gaming stores’ are ever popular!

I think the times, fads, & fun are changing, and changin faster than we care to accept..