Wednesday, October 30, 2013

This, That, and the Other

-When I was little, I loved Where the Wild Things Are.  There were few things finer in my mind than having my dad read this book to us, at night, on my parents' bed.  Because if we were on my parents' bed, we could really rumpus.  And as I read the book now, I realize that I always thought my parents were IN this book.  They were some of the wild things - my mom was the red-head and my dad was the guy with dark hair and a beard.  Did my dad have a beard?  No.  Do they look anything like my parents other than hair color?  No.  But still, that was them.  I mentioned this to my mom a year or so ago, and she said a lot of kids think that.  Really?  Do any of you remember thinking this?  Perhaps she meant books in general.  Thoughts?

-I've always thought it would be lovely to travel by train.  Though, to be honest, I probably want to travel by train in the 1950s.  The idea of having a dining car and a room with a pullout bed and riding a train overnight just sounds so romantic.  Not as in "lovey-dovey romance," but as in "dreamy and exciting." Like in the movie White Christmas.  I want to travel on that train.  Is that weird?  That I want to travel for the mode of travel more than the destination?

-And speaking of White Christmas, I love snow.  I love it!  I even want to wash my hair in it (not really, they obviously haven't ever experienced snow).  The thought of a good snowstorm thrills my little heart.  I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority on this one, but winter is loads better than summer.

-Another thing from my childhood: I always wanted a Teddy Ruxpin.  My friend Amanda up the street (a girl named Amanda on Amanda Ave, true story) got one, and she never wanted to play with it.  Meanwhile I was DYING to play with it. 
"Hey, Amanda, can we get out the Teddy Ruxpin?" 
"No, let's do something else." 
"Are you sure we can't just play with him for a minute?  Just one minute.  Please?" 
"You have to play what I want or we can't be friends." 
"Ok.  *sigh*  Bring on the My Little Ponies."
(You think I'm exaggerating, but this conversation happened more than once.  It's how I learned what the word "threatening" means.).

I've been told they are actually pretty lame, but how would I know?  Maybe they are every bit as exciting as I always dreamed!  Can anyone confirm or deny the awesomeness of the Teddy Ruxpin?  And was I crazy for wanting one?

-I'm a book lover.  Finding the library in town saved my sanity that first week in Illinois.  Going for 5 days without a library card just about killed me. 

-In related news, I was invited to a new book club here.  I went to our first meeting, and suddenly, Illinois was home.  Something just clicked.  We live here now.  I am breathing a sigh of relief.

3 comments:

Sabrina said...

-Yay for libraries and book clubs! I am glad you are feeling at home.

-Amanda on Amanda Ave had every toy imaginable. That is what I remember most about her, so I am not surprised she had a Teddy Ruxpin.

-I don't remember ever playing with her Teddy Ruxpin though, nor did I have one of my own, so I can't confirm or deny his awesomeness either.

-I'd like to take a 50's train trip too, preferably through Europe. It would be about the mode of travel and the destinations for me :) If you find a suitable train ride, even if it's in the US, I'll come join you for a trip!

Laura said...

Yay for feeling like you are home! I hope I feel that soon.

And another thing we have in common - I love winter and snow!! It's so pretty!

Gretchen said...

I totally had a Teddy Ruxpin AND the Grubby that you could get. He came with a cord that attached him to Teddy and somehow (magically?) that cord made it so that he spoke Grubby's dialogue. It was amazing. And I loved him. LOVED. HIM. I actually had him until I was a junior in high school and I only got rid of him because my niece happened upon the cassette tapes and pulled all of the tape out of them. *insert "Totally Okay With That" face*