Spewing my new Diet Coke out my nose, I managed a feeble, "Sure."
It hardly matters that Bob has charmed every drive-thru in town to give us discounts on our soda habits. It still took me by surprise. I mean, really. What was that perky little girl thinking? I don’t look a day over 47!
But it got me thinking about a few things (the least of which is coloring my hair this weekend), and I realized that I really have been around awhile....
I remember playing with Tinkertoys. My Tinkertoys were made of stained wood. Later on, I think the connector pieces were plastic.
I spent hours playing Barbies with my friend, Laurie Mead. I had so much stuff. We'd cover the entire living room floor setting it up, then she had to go home and I got stuck picking it all up. I got a Malibu Barbie when she first came out. I also had an original Barbie and Ken that I got from my cousin Aileen. (Actually, she probably has no idea that she gave it to me. Her mother was cleaning out the garage. Shhhh!) I always thought original Barbie looked like my mom's friend, Vi Lindahl. They had the same face.
I had old time skates. They were probably hand-me-downs from my sisters. They fit right over my tennis shoes and had a rusty key just like this one. I remember the year I got brand new white shoe skates. I totally ruined my birthday that year because I peeked under my parent's bed and saw the box.
Kiddles! I had a ton of them. I adored these little things! It slays me to no end that they are calling these "vintage" on eBay. I still have these somewhere...
Dolly Darlings. These little things were rather special because my grandpa bought them for me. Grandpa Jack loved pie. Banana cream or coconut cream, chocolate cream... it didn't matter.
Every afternoon we'd wait for the Helm's Bakery truck to drive up our street. I couldn't have been older than 5 or 6. As soon as we heard the bell or horn, I'd run out to the street and wave him down. Better than the ice cream truck, the Helm's man delivered breads and cakes and pies! And grandpa kept them in business. The Helm's man also had Dolly Darlings. It must have been a special of some kind. Grandpa bought me a new one every time. Their little socks and shoes and gloves were painted on.
Ah. Penny candy. It really was just a penny! There used to be an Alpha Beta grocery store right on the corner of Tustin and 17th street. And right next to that was a little drug store (can't think of what it was called... maybe that perky little girl knew what she was talking about after all). Anyway, my mom and I would go there all the time (the butcher was right next to the drug store and we got all our meat there). Anyway... the drugstore had this huge counter of penny candy and my mom would always give me a nickle to pick out what I wanted. The day it went up to 2 cents was the day I stopped getting a nickle. 
We had these metal ice cube trays that were a beast! My fingers always got stuck to the tray and you could never get that lever thing lifted up to release the cubes.
Hey, Hey, it's the Monkees! Sitting that close to the TV shouldn't have been allowed, but the closer I got to Davy Jones' face, the better. Loved that show. But Ralph never did let me get a Monkee's album. I had to go to Laurie Mead's house to hear it. She had everything. She even had an Easy Bake Oven and a Snow Cone Machine. But let's not go there. I'm still bitter about that.
Chewing gum chains. No one on this planet chewed more gum than my friend and neighbor, Maria Mancini. The Mancinis lived three doors down and had the exact same house as ours... in reverse. I loved going there because it was so weird seeing it all backward. Anyway, back to Maria's gum. We'd watch the Mickey Mouse Club (she had a TV in her room!) every afternoon, and while we sang along with Annette, she made gum chains. They were miles long. Seriously. 
H.R. Puffenstuff. Oh my gosh. Jimmy and his flute. And Witchie Poo! This was the most stressful show on television. I don't even remember if Jimmy ever made it home, but my chest gets tight thinking about it.
If the Helms Bakery Man was my hero, the Fuller Brush Man was my mother's. This traveling salesman delivered the latest and greatest in cleaning supplies right to the door. Right to the door of the cleanest house on the block. Right into the hands of MaryAnntiseptic herself. Cleaning supplies were an addiction for her. He'd come in to the house and sit down in the family room with his big black traveling case. He'd flip latches and open that thing up revealing all sorts of compartments filled with wondrous stuff. Polishes and wax. Brushes and mops. I think they day they stopped peddling was a sad one indeed. Ah. Well, it's fun to remember. While I still can. After all, I am getting the senior discount now.
3 comments:
Wow, you thought of everything! I never knew that the Mancini's house was ours in reverse. Of course I didn't play over there a lot since Brian was the one my age and he was a boy. I remember when they put the second story on their house. I always wondered why they did that. Didn't they have 3 kids like we did? We fit nicely in our house, I thought.
Your mom was very nice to give you penny candy money. I don't think my mom ever did. But I do remember Grandpa and his love of sweets. I think I can still hum the Helms bakery tune. Remember when he started giving us all sugarless candy?
The Avon lady! She was always more interesting than the visiting teachers, I thought. I loved those little sample tubes.
I also remember going over to the Fuller's pool to swim. That was a real treat. The parents would visit on the patio and they would give us ice cream bars. To Eat In The Pool!!! That was just the best. I have thought of that just this last week when I bought popsicles for the express purpose of giving them to the Brown kids when they come over to swim. I can't wait to see their faces! Who knew I would aspire to be like the Fuller's in my old age?
And speaking of age ... you are still my little sister. Love you!
Oh, Suzie, your article is delightful! I had tinker toys, but they didn't come in colors, just finished wood.
As a boy, I could sometimes talk my dad into a frostie (can't rememeber the store). When living with my grandmother at age 9 or so, dad got her a TV and I watched "Time for Beanie"
I watched my younger sisters watch the Mickey Mouse Club. I didn't sing along with Annette but I enjoyed seeing her and the cartoon.
If you have some of those items you talked about they are probably worth some money now.
By the way, you are an excellent writer.
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