My dad was always big on reading. I was homeschooled, so I got a...
My dad was always big on reading. I was homeschooled, so I got a heaping dose of the classics, most of which I grudgingly got through. In other words, I was a regular kid.
In the 80s, I had access to all kinds of TV based toys to play with (Jem, My Little Pony, etc). My sister and I played with Star Trek: the Next Generation action figures. Disney had a line of dolls to go with every movie they released.
One line of entertainment-related dolls that made a huge impact on me was Pleasant Company (currently called the American Girl collection). Instead of tying into a video story, these dolls came with historical fiction books.
The books were more a part of Pleasant Company to me than the dolls, because at least I could get the books from the library. Every now and then, I’d get one for Christmas (because at $5.95 for a novelette, I had a hard time convincing my parents the series was a sound investment).
For the longest time, Samantha was the way to go if you were a girl in the late 80s.
She was flowery and Victorian, and that was the proper doll to want. I wanted Molly, even though she was “too modern” – which never seemed like a good reason. A GOOD reason not to get the doll I wanted was because she was (then) $74. And where’s a 9-year-old supposed to get money like that?
But then 1991 came around and Pleasant Company added a new doll to their lineup.
Felicity was from the 1770s – and my favorite movie of all time (at that point) was 1776, the musical.
And what the hell kid thinks this is the best movie ever? I have no idea, but it was me.
So, coupling my established love of reading with a doll from an era I wished I’d been born in, and you got a winning combo. Unfortunately, by the time I was able to scrape together enough money to buy the doll, I was basically too old to play with her. But I held on to her throughout the years (and many, many moves). The photo above (of the 3 dolls together) was recently taken by me on my sofa. So though my friends are off having babies now, I still have my dolls and books, and I still write stories and play with hair because who wants to give that stuff up?
