"Do you remember Polly Pocket"
OF COURSE MOM.
But then I got to thinking...
Does anyone remember the story of Puff the Magic Dragon? If you don't, just listen to the live version I've linked in. It's pretty self-explanatory, but here is a spark notes version:
Young boy and mythical creature (Puff) become BFFs. Mythical creature is presumed to be figment of young boy's (alias: Jackie Paper) imagination. Adventures abound. Jackie Paper then grows up and leaves his friend behind, and for the purposes of the song the creature returns to his mythical cave dejected, sad, and nostalgic. Without joking, the story/song really touches my heart, and if the song describes a real life phenomenon, then I owe a serious apology to my former bff and confidant, Polly Pocket.
I played with Polly Pocket and her gaggle of pocket-sized biddies on a daily basis--often for hours a day. This was the exact house where the magic happened (so to speak):
God, it was magnificent. It wasn't until 3 years after I received this gift that I realized that the indoor garden (stage right) actually flipped upwards and became a computer room. Life was full of surprises when Polly was involved.
I loved playing with Polly Pocket almost as much as I loved the "Dear America" history book series for girls and Nancy Drew. Never got into Barbie (her fair freaked me out...), never owned a cabbage patch, and my parents wouldn't even let us have Alpha-Bits cereal (you know, with the marshmallow vowels) let alone dream of indulging our wishes for American Girl dolls. Polly was perfect for me.
My cat Crusty bit the heads off of all of my Pollies, but it didn't matter, I was still able to use my imagination to make something of her that she wasn't. I channeled all of my hopes and dreams into Polly's daily adventures. For instance, I was so ABSOLUTELY sure that on my 13th birthday I would jump out of bed, look in the mirror, and I would just be a Spice Girl. I'd be tall, pretty, and an internationally known diva. I truly believed in my heart that this would be true--and I created that scenario day in and day out via Polly. I waited patiently and dismissed most personal setbacks as temporary--after all, I was going to be a TEENAGER one day. Even if life wasn't always perfect, it would be perfect soon.
My imaginary story always followed this sequence. My metamorphosis into a Spice Girl (OBVIOUSLY I'd be Baby Spice...blonde hair and all) would commence immediately on my 13th birthday. I'd then go on to find my amazingly sweet high school boyfriend, and we'd be the shit and totally in love. I'd go to any college I wanted, I'd be a scientist, and life would be a non-stop party.
I was so ready for these life events that I even made a straight-to-video Polly Pocket movie--which at the time I viewed as more of an auto-biography written and produced by former Allison Gilchrist and starring the "new" Allison Gilchrist than a movie for pure entertainment. For the record there is NO shame in having a straight-to-vid blemish on my cinematic resume because Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen did it and they are (relatively) fine.
Being the entrepreneurial prodigy that I was, I had the foresight to include commercials in my movie. I knew I had to generate revenue for the remaining two movies in the Polly trilogy. Evidently I drew my inspiration from the ambulance-chasing law firm commercials that aired between Maury and Jerry Springer segments. I lined up 3 of my stuffed animal bears on the couch and spoke of the services they could provide for clients. A simple call to "1-800-The-Bears" would handle any medical malpractice cases my friends at the time were juggling. I was one letter/number over the correct amount of digits necessary for functioning toll-free numbers, but I was pretty close.
But none of my expectations ever came to fruition. I remember the last day that I woke up and tried to play with Polly. It was just going to be another standard day with my hot pocket-sized boyfriend in our big pocket-sized house (with secret compartments...obviously) in Polly's World, but I just couldn't do it. I remember feeling a block in my brain that just wouldn't allow me to remove myself from reality and into my former dream world. I just couldn't get into her story. That wasn't really my story, and I realized that I didn't even want it to be my story anymore. I was me and that's all there was to it. With a heavy heart I folded up her houses and Polly Sea-World and put her in my closet for good.
The imagination of a child is a fascinating concept--and it's a beautiful thing. But really, I'm just glad that none of my Polly predictions came true. A Spice Girl?? How would that be working out for me now...?
Lucky for my conscious I can't look back on the end of my relationship with Polly Pocket and think of whatever the equivalent of Puff's "green scales falling like rain" would be for her. Afterall, Crusty bit off her head..tear-ducts and all.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Play nice.