I think we all have that one toy, don't we? The favoured toy that, no matter how old we get, we just can't seem to get rid of? It survives the annual toy donations to charity when we're children, gets spared in the moving-out-of-home culling, and the next thing you know you're a thirty mumble year old woman with a stuffed dog that lives under her coffee table and guards the remote controls.
Or is it just me?
That toy, for me, is my yellow stuffed dog called Kimmy. I have this vague recollection of naming her that after a little girl who lived across the street, because she had yellow hair, and the dog was yellow ... well it made sense to me at the time.
God, but I loved that dog. Still do, if I'm being completely honest. I slept with her every night for years, and even now if I'm feeling sad hugging her will always make me feel better. She's that little link to my childhood, and I love her to bits.
So I was understandably shocked when, while wandering around on eBay, I stumbled across someone who is selling "Vintage Dakin Drooper Dogs".
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| Aren't they cute? |
Huh, so that's what they were called, I never new that!
And they're selling quite a lot of them too. eBay has 46 of them listed! Where on earth did they manage to get so many stuffed dogs made in the 70's in pristine condition? Was someone hoarding them somewhere and they thought now would be the perfect time to try and offload them on eBay for thirty bucks a piece?
Is there a huge market for thirty year old stuffed toys made of highly flammable materials?
It was a bit of a shock to see the picture though. It's been well over thirty years since my Kimmy looked anything like that. Over time her fur has gotten quite pilled, and she's lost her eyebrows and nose. Not to mention the stitches on her lower back where, at the age of eight, I had to do some emergency surgery and red cotton was all I could find in Mum's sewing box.
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| I still think you're beautiful, Kimmy |
The funny thing is, until I saw the picture on eBay, it never even occurred to me that she was looking old and worn. I didn't notice the stretched out ears, the grubby fur, or the white cloth starting to show at the seams. To me, she was just the same as when I was a toddler.
I guess it's true what they say, love is blind.
I can barely remember a brown and tan suffed dog named Rex, I think. I guess I was fickle back then as he didn't last long after I discovered model airplanes.
ReplyDeleteS
To answer your question, yes, of course there's a market for them. There's always a market for nostalgia. I wish I had horded my toys from childhood, I'd be an E-Bay millionaire.
ReplyDeleteDon't have one of my toys..sob...but I remember them all.
ReplyDeleteGone but not forgotten... a smallish long-eared stuffed dog toy. As a young boy I would show him the San Francisco Bay Bridge as "we" would drive across with my parents into or out of The City... yeah, good times.
ReplyDeleteNot going to mention the toy's name right now. Since you brought it up, consider that an old toy's name might be useful for something
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Yes, love usually is blind. But I think Kimmy looks exactly like a well-loved dog should look. If he were brand new sparkling spotless, it would look like he'd been kept on the shelf and never loved.
ReplyDeleteKimmy is a bad ass and so much more mature than those newbies on eBay. Think of the stories she could tell those young'uns that would make their shiny hair curl!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat are you talking about? Kimmy is still beautiful. Good vibes to start the New Year, Yay !!
ReplyDeleteI'd be the last one to ridicule you for seeking comfort in the arms of a "stuffie." I myself have been known to curl up with a stuffed pony named Ted.
ReplyDeleteTime is not kind to any of us, is it?
ReplyDeleteAhhh she looks so loved! I have a bear I've had since I was born and I've had to sew his arms and legs on so many times he looks multicoloured from all the different coloured cottons! xx
ReplyDeleteYes he is cute - keep him safe!
ReplyDeleteMy stepdaughter is in her late 40's and has nothing but an ear left of her fav teddy and she just cherishes it!
I feel the same way about my blow-up doll "Bambie" ....was that TMI?
ReplyDeleteYou have just convinced me to hide all of the photos of me so my husband can't find them in 30 years and realize I'm not the bombshell he married. :)
ReplyDeleteAWWW..how cute is that? I never had a childhood toy that made it past childhood and I think that is adorable that you do. Yes, Kimmy is quite beautiful.
ReplyDeleteMy mom sold my toys at garage sales. I managed to steal a couple of things from the garage so I have a couple of childhood items.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie, who despises garage sales
I have one of these stuffed dogs sitting in the trash to go out. It kinda broke my heart to put it there, since one of my sons absolutely loved it, but it looked beyond saving. But, I still have my Revlon doll in a box in the basement, lol.
ReplyDeleteI have a doll in my dresser that I got for Christmas in 1964. The hair is gone in most places and what's left is pilled because I used to rub and twirl the hair. There's a wind up music box inside of her but that doesn't work anymore. There's no outfit on her. Just a stuffed cloth body with arms and legs attached. But her eyes are still the same beautiful blue with black eyelashes that take me back almost 50 years to happy and safe times. I think Kimmy is prettier than those on Ebay. Very cool post.
ReplyDeleteI've got a teddy bear that's the same, almost as old as me.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you buy a new one? You can sit them side by side and Kimmy will have a playmate!