Weekend Assignment #39: 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.
The "must- have" toy of my early childhood was a "Little Red Spinning Wheel". I had to have this marvelous item. I remember telling everyone that if I received this gift, I would use it and cherish it forever. I even remember the catchy little jingle that accompanied the TV ads for it: "Spin and loop and then you pull", sung to the tune of "Skip to My Lou".
Well, Santa came through and granted me my wish. I was seven or eight years old that Christmas. The disappointment began to set in when I realized that my little red spinning wheel was nothing more than a new spin (!) on an old fashioned toy; namely, a spool into which four nails, evenly spaced, are driven. Yarn is then looped around the nails in such a manner to pull a resulting braided strand down through the hole. This, in turn, could be made into pot holders, placemats, etc.; whatever one's creative little mind could fashion this long braid into.
I spun, I looped and I pulled but it wasn't anywhere near as exciting as I had anticipated. I don't even think the spinning wheel part had anything to do with the braiding process. This was probably my first introduction to the fact that things are not always what they appear to be. It happens to us all at some point in our innocent childhood.
Here is a picture of this item in all its glory. Wouldn't you be enchanted with this if you were a little girl?
4 comments:
No! LOL! I wanted a Ricky Doll once (I love Lucy's baby) but I never mentioned it to my mother. I never believed in Santa....I was a cynical kid. LOL! I knew it was an expensive item, so I didn't ask for it. I guess I was also a dumb kid. LOL!
Angela
Look at the bright side. You didn't prick your finger on a spindle, fall into a deep sleep and need to be rescued by...never mind. --Karen
Would you believe that I found two of these on E BAY in "mint" condition for as low as 9.99!!! Wow...
After reading this entry, I realized that I actually had one of these. I used to love to "spool knit," though I don't think I ever made anything useful out of my long, long strands...maybe a pot holder or two. We NEVER got brand name toys, though, until my mom started working at Woolworth's when i was about ten, and she would get the things that were marked down many times over and were about to be thrown out. That is when our collection of Barbies really grew by leaps and bounds. We could be rich if we had just taken some of those dolls, still in the boxes, and put them away for forty years! But who knew? Lisa :-]
Post a Comment