Christmas 1978

Santa came to my house in 1978 via the front door. I was happy to invite him in but after further investigation it was quite clear that is was our neighbor Mr. Pizzano. I informed the adults and was asked to keep this knowledge to myself as there were other children at the party who did not know. Since “Santa” knew I knew at that point he was very good at letting me play along with his little game and I became the “helper”. The keeper of the secret, the one in the know. From what I do remember it was a fun night and furthered my affection toward this wonderful neighbor I had while growing up.

I was really into playing with my Barbie’s and making mud balls at this age. This is the house I learned to ride a bicycle without training wheels, the house where in the bottom floor my dad had built us a playhouse inside the house that was under the stairs and it had a door that was two pieces an upper and a lower. My cousin Rolfie broke my walking dolls legs in this house and then said he didn’t. Cousin Rolfie is deaf and I felt he didn’t get into trouble because he was deaf, but now that I am an adult I think my mom was just trying to not make a huge fuss about my doll, but I was really upset. I mean..what good is a walking doll that can no longer walk?

A walking doll that can’t walk?? I tried to press her plastic leg back in the socket and then I bent her socket area. I should of waited and had my dad help but this needed to be addressed immediately, so what I hadn’t really played with her for..I don’t know how long but she was moved at some point to second string doll to play with..well come on with a doll that big, she was about as tall as me, there wasn’t too much I could truly do to her like dress her up? You were limited, and my clothes were to big on her but doll clothes too small and not like she had other walking doll friends to hang out with and make believe with..so she didn’t get played with all that much but BUT it doesn’t excuse the fact he broke her leg, ruined her, lied about it and no one seemed to care.  I think his hearing aids were kind of odd for me as a child I hadn’t ever had much experience with kids with hearing aids and in the 70’s hearing aids were pretty big and he was touching my stuff without giving me proper respect…(just because my mom says you can play with my toys you know as a kid you need sign off from the kid’s toys you are about to play with if they are there.)

She would sit by Grover in the toy playhouse. Grover was a cool puppet I got from when my cousin died and her mom let me pick out some toys from her closet. I know that sounds really freaky and in hindsight it is but when you are a kid you don’t put that all together but now when I think of my Grover I think of my dead cousin. I think she had childhood leukemia. OMG see this is so not appropriate for Christmas okay okay..back on track…hmmm hmm hmm hmm

Her hair was pretty nappy too, I am talking again about that walking doll. Why is it Doll hair gets so oogie after a period of time, I wonder if Doll hair technology has gotten much better these days? Sometimes I’d be in the playhouse under the stairs and out of the corner of my eye I’d catch my walking doll silhouette and get scared so I had to bury her deeper into the bottom of the toy box. Of course at this point I couldn’t say I didn’t want my walking doll after I had put all the fuss up about my cousin mutilating her so at the edges of my memory of her she is laying face up under layers of toys in the back toy box under the stairs.You can not duct tape a walking doll leg to the doll and call it a day. The doll can’t walk, or sit, so the duct tape had to be removed then she had a “sticky” spot and goobers started accumulating on her. I WONDER….what she looks like now? Probably in some land fill someplace, standing water in her body a breeding ground for god knows what and army of bloodsucking Nile virus carrying mosquito’s.

Looking at the picture above, and looking into the mirror. I have the same hairstyle it’s just longer. Actually I always had long hair as a child but a few years prior to that picture my mother had my hair cut from waist long hair to a Dorothy Hamel cut. I didn’t know what I was agreeing to or I don’t think I would of agreed but I do clearly remember being excited about having my hair cut like Dorothy Hamel, thankfully hair does grow.

I guess I’ve really always loved figure skaters. I too was a dancer but never had the opportunity as a child to figure skate. I did get to go skating in my late teens when I moved to Michigan for a bit. Figure Skaters are such incredible athlete’s.