As the only child in the house, I naturally had my own room, and my grandparents spoiled me to the extent their finances would allow.
Because they were both teachers, they understood the importance of reading, and I had several shelves of well-read books: novels by Louisa May Alcott and Laura Ingalls Wilder, several volumes in The Bobbsey Twins series, Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass, Black Beauty, and many, many others.
When an elderly relative died with no other close family, my grandparents took care of settling the estate -- they kept a large (19"?) black & white TV and gave it to me for my room. Many evenings I would make a big bowl of popcorn, pre-microwave style:
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| A layer of oil in the bottom, heated until a single kernel of corn pops. Pour in 1/4 cup popcorn and wait for the magic to happen! |
and settle in for an evening of Star Trek, Time Tunnel, The Man From U.N.C.L.E, Combat!, Rat Patrol, Batman, The Monkees, N.Y.P.D., The Invaders, The Fugitive, The F.B.I., Lost in Space, Mission Impossible, and oh so many more. (Yes, I was a TV junkie.)
I had one Barbie™ doll and one Skooter™ doll (I really wanted a Skipper™, but she was sold out). I also had two Tressy™ dolls:
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| Her hair actually grew! |
and a Chatty Cathy™:
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| "Let's play house." "Please brush my hair." "Do you love me?" |
Lest you think I only played with dolls, I also had a Tonka™ truck:
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| Of course, I used this camper to transport my Barbie and Tressy dolls. |
I also had several 45's, a couple albums and a small record player:
My Add-A-Pearl™ necklace held 10:
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| Not my necklace, but the same size and style as mine. |
And, not to be forgotten -- my much-loved bicycle:
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| "Oh, yes, I promise I won't ride outside the neighborhood!" |
which I received on my 8th birthday. (I detailed my out-of-neighborhood adventures here.) If you're of a "certain age," you'll likely recall that back then, bicycles came in two colors: red for boys, and blue for girls.
Finally, I had a closet full of lovely dresses for school and church, and several sets of "play clothes."
It was a comfortable life, to be sure.
