Friday, December 17, 2004

Weekend Assignment #39: Disappointing Toys

Weekend Assignment #39 is:

Tell us about the toy you had to have for the holidays when you were a kid, only to find out it was kinda disappointing once you had it.

Extra Credit: Tell us the most unrealistic holiday gift request you ever made.

When I was 6, I asked and begged and asked some more for roller skates. All my friends had them. The kind I had in my mind were the kind they had (lace up kind with the stopper in the front) and I just assumed my parents would know that.




So Christmas that year rolls around and I open the box, and it is the old fashioned metal kind you adjust over your shoes. I was shocked. I don't remember if I said anything at that moment. I remember using them a few times and putting them on a shelf in the garage.

I was at my parents house a few weeks back helping my Dad clean out the attic and while I was on the ladder I happened to see them. It brought all that back, and I told my Dad about it and we had a good laugh. I thanked him for them because I told him that I didn't think I did back then.

The most unrealistic Holiday gift I ever asked for was when I was 8. My sister had just got her driving permit and they were giving her the old car (a Comet) while they went and got a new one (a Caprice Classic that I ended up with when I turned 16). I remember we were at the Chevy dealership and I spotted a Vega.



When my parents asked me what I wanted for Christmas I showed them clippings from ads that I had saved. I don't remember what I got that year, but I didn't get the Vega!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Back in grade school (5th grade?, 6th grade?), skateboarding made a big comeback. I wanted a really bad-ass board that would allow me to do all the cool tricks I'd seen done on TV. I got the skateboard. Problem was I lived on a farm where concrete was in short supply. Oops. That sweet board wasn't much use on a gravel driveway. I probably learned some kind of lesson then, but I'd much rather be pissed about it!

Russ

Karen Funk Blocher said...

Yes, I had that kid of skates, too. I absolutely could not travel two feet on them without me falling down or the skates falling off. (I later that the same problem with ski bindings.) I did much better with real, lace-up ice skates, until I started spraining my ankles all the time, beginning with my first weke in high school.

It amazes me that he still had your old skates on hand. I mean, why? Are there other, better artifacts still hanging around over there?

Karen