Me. 1969
As mentioned previously I am currently listening to Haven Kimmel’s She Got Up Off the Couch the sequel to her very popular A Girl Named Zippy memoir. Haven Kimmel grew up in the 60’s and 70’s which is why I particularly enjoy her writing. She so perfectly captures the essence of growing up in that time.
It’s making me nostalgic for certain things that I had or coveted during that time. Before anyone had heard of a Nintendo or iPod’s or MySpace. Back when a kid was free to roam as long as they were home by the time the streetlights came on (Ms. Kimmel apparently grew up with this same household rule like we did). No over scheduling with tutors, ballet, and after school sports; one’s day was one’s own once they got through whatever chores had been assigned or school work that needing attending to.
In the late 60’s and early 70’s it was all about the Kiddle doll as far as I was concerned. I was never a Barbie girl. Nope, not me. It was Milly Middle with her toy box, Biff Boddle with his wagon and tiny little dungarees and my favorite; Soapy Siddle with her claw footed bathtub and her striking resemblance to me (well so I thought at the time). Then came the perfume Kiddles like Apple Blossom and Sweet Pea. I loved them as much for their little perfume bottle homes as I did their little bendy selves. My sister swore they didn’t smell so much of roses or lilacs as they did ham. She still insists this. Who am I to argue with her olfactory memory?
My best friend growing up, Naomi had an impressive collection. She was also very particular about her collection. First of all she had her own room so she had that distinct advantage up on me. I had to share a room with a marauding younger sister so none of my belongings were all that safe. But no, Naomi had her own room with its own bookcase solely dedicated to her Kiddle Kollection. Each Kiddle stayed pristine in its original perfume bottle packaging or bejeweled locket. Not only was I not allowed to touch any of her Kiddles, I had to stand back a good two feet with my hands clasped behind my back in order to even be allowed to look at them. Naomi went on to form her own real estate consulting firm that specializes in environmentally and socially responsible development. Basically I think she is still telling people not to breathe their germy breath on or disrupt the pristine beauty of things.
After Kiddles there was a brief infatuation with Wacky Packages – this nearly rivaled the Beanie Baby craze of the 90’s. They were stickers that made fun of normal household products – like Crust Toothpaste or Band-Ache bandages. The stickers actually came with a horrid stick of petrified gum that was always immediately tossed. You never could tell what stickers would come in any package so we would buy up what we could and then there would be a trading frenzy. We were eventually banned from bringing them to school since we couldn’t be trusted to limit our bartering to recess. It also resulted in Bergmann’s department store to impose sanctions on unattended ten year olds in their toy department. Fistfights were known to break out in the aisles when a new shipment of stickers arrived.
My interest and collection came to a swift and permanent end when someone, who never did confess but I do have my suspicions, tossed the manila envelope containing my entire, hard fought collection into the trash. Confusing it with scrap paper I’m sure.
Luckily I had my Footsee to give me solace.