Memorial Day

When I was growing up, my favorite holiday was Memorial Day!  I know that's weird.  I'm sure if you conduct a poll, 0 out of 100 kids would name Memorial Day as their favorite holiday.  Let me explain why it was so much fun for me.

First of all, we always got a new outfit to wear on Memorial Day - of course, it had to be  red, white and blue.  I would pray for a warm, sunny day because the weather in the Northeast in late May can be cool.  Sweaters and jackets can just ruin a good stars and stripes theme.  (Don't even get me started about what a cold or rainy Halloween night can do to a good scary costume.)

We always watched the Shelton parade sitting on the curb in front of my great grandmother's house surrounded by extended family and friends.  The adults had lawn chairs, but the kids sat on the concrete...not very pleasant when wearing shorts (even if they are a cute navy and white stripe).  Also, not a great spot to be in when the Shelton High Majotettes marching by would throw their batons 15 feet into the air and then try to catch them. (I'm not sure how hard they really tried.)  My mom tells the story that one year  I was looking straight up as the baton came down on my head!  I don't remember this.  I'm not sure if that is because I was too young to recall it or because I had memory loss from a severe head injury.

After the parade, we would walk over to the Aherns' house and eat  donuts and pastry while the crowds and traffic thinned.  Then we would go home and kill a few hours before going to my aunt and uncle's house for a really fun picnic that would last into the night.

There were always cases of bottled Castle soda in a variety of flavors under the tree and we drank as many as we wanted  since the adults were busy with their own beverages.   Birch Beer was my favorite with Cream a close seond.

After hot dogs and hamburgers, salads, ice cream and softball, my cousin Robin and I would usually go up to her room and make prank phone calls.  I never had a phone in my room, so this was very exciting. Today's kids don't realize what they are missing.   Caller ID has ruined one of the most fun and creative activities of our youth.  The thrill of a good prank phone call was about as daring as I ever got and to this day it still makes me smile.

Reading this over, I guess it's impossible to recapture the magic of a great memory.  None of this sounds as exciting as I remember it, but I still recall that feeling of anticipation and excitement and stand by my vote for  Memorial Day as my all time favorite holiday.

My addiction to Barbie

My all-time favorite toy to play with was the Babie doll.  I could play Barbie for hours and usually did, with my sister, Renee.  Mom would buy Barbie clothes for us every time she went downtown.  They cost $2.00 for a whole outfit (including shoes)  and we had all of them.
Our favorite doll was "the white haired Barbie."

We would argue over whose turn it was to play with her.  We had so many variations of Barbies, but only one with the white hair. When Renee would be playing with her,  I would grab Barbie's head and take it off and put it on the Barbie I was playing with.  This happened so many times that she ended up with  a tear in her neck. (Barbie, not Renee.) For some reason we still loved her the best....broken neck and all.

Another thing we argued about were the outfits.  Looking back we may have argued more than we played.  We both loved the black sequined gown with a red rose in the tulle hem. It came with a floor microphone for any nightclub gigs Barbie happened to be playing as she held the pink scarf in her hand.

Of course, we also had all the "hangers on"...Ken, Midge, and Barbie's little sister Skipper.  We always gave these to our friends to play with when they came over.  Barbie was always the star. All was fine until one day Renee decided to cut Skipper's hair. I was so upset!  Of course, it wouldn't be until years later when we learned how much an  original Skipper doll was worth that we realized what an expensive haircut that really was!

My very favorite outfit, without a doubt, was this gold lamee dinner dress and coat with (wait for it) REAL MINK trim.  (PETA wasn't born yet.)  This outfit got so much wear and tear that the gold eventually wore off in most places and the mink became a wisp of a memory.

These photos still bring a smile to my face.  I have never wanted to own a black sequined gown, or sing in a nightclub; never owned a mink trimmed coat ...never even wanted to cut my sister's hair, but maybe that's because I did all these things before I was 10 and got it out of my system. We sure did have fun!