Remember the magic of these coin operated mechanical kiddie rides? They were typically horses, rockets or cars that entertained the kids with a gentle rocking motion. Often situated outside department stores, supermarkets and other places parents take their children, these rides were still common when I was a kid and offered for just a few cents. Of course, that was practically a hundred years ago and you just don’t see them as much these days.
That’s too bad because kids loved them and they brought a lot of smiles for a small investment compared to what it costs to entertain some kids today.
I have seen them still operating in movie theater lobbies and you see them as decor in retro restaurants where they’re treated like museum pieces. But at the Moose Creek Lodge and Suites in downtown Cody, Wyoming, this little pony works and is available for rides at the bargain basement price of fifty cents. I’m a little big for a ride but it still made me smile to see it here and accessible to anyone with two quarters in their pocket.
Awakening to a sun drenched room on a summer morning is a much different experience than doing so with the early morning blare of an alarm clock.
It reminds me of summer vacation when I was a kid. Sugary cereal, Barbies and She-Ra action figures were the most important things on my to-do list.
We had a library-by-mail service back then and I relished those deliveries in the brown paper envelopes stuffed so full of books they hardly fit in the mailbox. This was my very favorite treat back then and it was completely free.
What a gift to a country kid who loved to read.
Maybe that’s why I still get such a kick out of my Book of the Month Club deliveries and the other book mail I buy.
I was off yesterday and got to wake up with the sun. I don’t eat cereal anymore and there were no Barbies involved but it was a good one anyway. I played some LPs on the record player while making breakfast and doing some chores. After a hot shower, I settled in with a good book and nothing else to do till bedtime.
I went to bed early with a clean kitchen, a happily snoring cat who hogged the bed, and a clear conscience because my to-do list was done and I had fun too.
When I was a kid, my grandma had a seemingly endless supply of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum in her pocketbook. A stick of Juicy Fruit has a refreshing fruity flavor that lasts for approximately 22.5 seconds. Nonetheless, I enjoyed being offered a piece and did my best to make the flavor last before blowing bubbles until it was too stiff to chew.
I’ve been thinking a lot about her lately. My purse is about as disorganized as her pocketbook always was and there’s usually some gum lurking in there. Although, mine is always something minty and never Juicy Fruit.
Grandma didn’t drive so my mother typically took her to the grocery store when I was small. I often was offered a stick of gum while I hung out in the back seat of their car or slid around on the backseat of our family station wagon. This was back before seat belts were a big deal, of course. That leather seat was blazing hot in the summer and slick as could be the rest of the year, leaving me bouncing off the seat when we hit a bump and holding on tight as we took the curves.
We always went to a nearby town to hit a couple of grocery stores, a local bakery and a few other places. She liked going to more than one grocery store to get the buys and to find the products she wanted. I do that too.
Lunch often came from the Dairy Queen where we would get a Full Meal Deal – a sandwich, fries, drink AND sundae! That was a bargain and a treat. Now we call it the DQ. I drive by often but never think to go there. After all, they serve your Blizzard upside down but they don’t have the Full Meal Deal anymore.
Earlier this week I made boiled potatoes for dinner. These were a staple on her table and, as it turns out, a taste of my childhood. Every time I make them I simultaneously wonder why I don’t do it more often and why they taste so amazing. Really, if you want to eat a potato that tastes like the most potatoe-y of all the potatoes, just drop it in a pot of boiling water. I have vivid memories of my grandpa smashing a potato on his plate so that it was fluffy and soft. Now I take my time doing the same and enjoying the heat and the delectable smell of such a simple pleasure.
Last night I had to stop at the store to pick up something for my parents and was delighted to see Juicy Fruit flavored bubble gum on the rack at the check out. I bought a pack, tore it open and enjoyed popping bubbles as I headed down memory lane. I’ll put the pack in my purse and maybe pull out a piece and think of her the next time I go for a drive. While the flavor may not last long, the memories are forever.
When I was a very small tot, my mother developed a habit that would help shape me into who I am today. When we went to the grocery store every Thursday, our first stop was the spinning rack of Little Golden Books.
The Little Golden Book was a hit from the time it premiered in the forties. Inexpensive to produce, these hardbound books were durable in the hands of small children who played a little rough with their things. At the price of .25 per book, each colorfully illustrated volume told the story of adorable critters like the Pokey Little Puppy and Three Little Kittens.
By the time I came along in the late seventies, the average cost of these books was .59. While my folks didn’t have a lot of money, my mother never failed to budget for a book every week.
So, she would put me in a cart at the Kroger store in Wellston and wheel me straight to the spinning rack of golden spined books. Here we would choose something new from the selection of books about Sesame Street characters, Disney stories and all sorts of delightful little animals with exciting tales to share.
I couldn’t read yet but I do remember being excited about all the bright, pretty pictures. And I would study the book, flipping through the pages while she shopped. I was too engrossed in my new treasure to even notice the aisles of snacks and cereals we passed by.
She finished her shopping without fielding requests for things off budget and then we went home where she put away groceries and we sat down to read the new story.
I always treated my books carefully and with respect, often imposing on anyone that would read to me. I think a few of my older cousins were taken aback when I would plop down an entire stack – as many as my small arms could hold – with the expectation we could read them all.
At one time, I had dozens of those books that eventually got sold at a yard sale. I can’t believe we sold them. They were such an important part of my childhood that it seems crazy I let them go.
Sometimes I pick up vintage copies at antique malls and used bookstores. Here’s a rack of vintage Little Goldens at the Heart of Ohio Antique Mall.
I have several from my childhood and a bunch that predate me. The mid century artwork is superb and there are a couple of artists that rise above the others as favorites. Corinne Malvern is one of those favorites. There’s something soft and fanciful but realistic about her work.
Yup. I’m still looking at the pictures.
Occasionally you’ll still see a spinning rack of Little Goldens but, more often than not, they’re just on a shelf next to fifty other kids books and that makes me sad. Today the average retail price is $4.99 – still more affordable than most children’s books today.
I nearly always stop to see if there’s something I want for my collection or something that might fuel my sense of nostalgia.
As I look around stores today, parents aren’t buying their kids books. If they want to hold their attention in a store, the kids are given a phone to watch cartoons and play games. A modern day version of my mother’s distraction techniques, I guess. Just maybe not as enriching or as productive as teaching them to love reading.
My favorites often involved little woodland creatures, cats or travel. Shocking, I know. Evidently. my tastes were pretty much defined as a three year old in a grocery store shopping cart. These stories encouraged tolerance for others like when a lot of little creatures tried to live together and discovered they all had different food and shelter needs in The Very Best Home For Me.
Here’s a peek inside.
A few books introduced the idea of traveling to far off lands in such an exciting way I wanted to pack my little red Going To Grandma’s suitcase and strike off on a train or plane journey.
I learned a lot from those books and discovered a lifelong desire to collect and read books. As an only child, books were always a great gift. Part time machine and part magic carpet, they could transport me to anyplace I wished to go and continue to do so today.
There’s still nothing more satisfying than curling up in bed with a good book unless it’s being out scouring bookshelves for something new to try.
Now, the woman who taught me to love and collect books likes to frown when she asks how many more books I intend to buy. Ha, ha! My poor mother is convinced the floor of my house will someday collapse under the weight of my collection. Honestly, I worry more that I will someday stack my to be read pile too high and be crushed under the weight when it falls.
But what a way to go, right?
If you have kids, buy them books that they can read and reread and call their very own. And if you can’t afford to do that, take them to the library where they’ll find an entire new universe at their fingertips for absolutely no cost. And for yourself, find a book that sounds interesting, put down your phone and venture into the land of great storytelling. If you can read, you’ll never be bored or lonely. It’s the greatest gift you can give another person and yourself.
I ventured into some antique stores on Saturday. This display of vintage lunchboxes caught my eye so I stopped to study a few. Most I had seen before but there were a few surprises.
Remember how fun it was to pick out a new lunch box for school?
From Disney to your favorite tv show or band, your lunch box was an opportunity to celebrate something that you really liked and wanted the world (other kids at least) to know about.
When I first started school, they were all still metal. The transition to plastic models occurred during my elementary years and I recall having a couple that were plastic but it seems like they didn’t hold up very well.
Imagine my mixture of glee and despair when I realized that my own childhood lunchbox was mixed in with all these “vintage” pieces!
Yes, my childhood possessions now appear in antique stores. And they’re not cheap! Strawberry Shortcake here was $38.00!
One of the beautiful things about antiquing is that you can find pop culture references, pieces of history, works of art and occasionally, things that that are just strange.
I ventured into some antique stores on Saturday. This display of vintage lunchboxes caught my eye so I stopped to study a few. Most I had seen before but there were a few surprises.