Friday, April 17, 2009

The murder of Daisy Dee

My most faithful childhood companion was a doll called Daisy Dee whose hair I combed and shampooed; I told her many secrets, married her off to many suitable suitors, like Wind-up-Piggy and the boy on the biscuit tin.

Recently, I asked a tiny girl her favourite doll’s name. “I have 27,” she said, “and they’re all called Barbie.”
Today’s kid gets a toy when he does well in class, does miserably in class, Dad goes on a biz trip, Mom goes on a shopping trip (guilt), Sunday, Rain day, Uncle’s-coming-avisiting-so-you’d-better-behave day, election day in Alaska, found-a-toy-not-made-in-China day….
Do they know the romance of waking up every morning to the same beloved, raggedy teddy bear? Or is it quick flings, one-night stands with the train set, until the new car comes in? Will they ever know the magic of an entire afternoon spent fixing a toy soldier’s broken arm with string and grandma’s stolen dentures? Or will it be “Pa, just buy me the next-gen soldier with the laser gun?”

The other day I found Daisy Dee in an old box, and decided to introduce her to my little boys, with all her stories and dreams. We cuddled under the quilt at night, and I told them about value, sentiment and love. They looked at her and me with awe. I DID IT, I thought, I gave them a life lesson.

The next morning, my foot kicked something that went bouncing down the stairs. It was Daisy Dee’s head. A monster truck had run over her, a Transformer twisted her arms backwards, and a dinosaur had bitten a chunk out of her middle. I put her back into her box. Only one dainty foot was still un-attacked.
May her sole (and my heart) rest in peace.

11 comments:

  1. I had an old truck that lasted many a fall, and winter. I have never had any other relationship that lasted that long. HAHA.

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  2. haha...I have sold Bayblades by the kilo once arjun got over them! I have my doll too, my kids had a tough time time accepting a doll well over 30!! unlike me, she still has all her hair ( and has not got any grey)...and yes I hate barbie...and her boyfriend!

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  3. Daisy Dee
    Sure would like to borrow that dionosaur...........
    -Mahabelly

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  4. toys? no such luck for me. my daughter prefers real-life stuff. real phones. real utensils. even real dogs. all the toys and teddies we bought for her are lying lined up in a neglected corner. i doubt whether, after 20 years, she'll look at the steel spoon reminiscently, and recall how she played the bongo with it on the ceramic plate. unlikely.

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  5. Hi Jane, finally found your blog site..and i am really impressed. read through lot of your blog posts and many of the incidents had me laughing. folks around me at work must be wondering why i am giggling all by myself on a monday afternoon :)

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  6. boys i tell you....i still have my non-barbie doll too :) hopefully it live its life :)

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  7. I had two such dolls for a long time, where my own brother did a haircut for them and told me they would grow soon longer than before. Damn why did it listen to him. Now i see my boys playing with toys which are as old as them, ripped into pieces, wires hanging out of remote control cars which were bought before they were mature to use them. Well actually little did i think they were mechanics in their own minds, wanting to rip the cars apart just to see how they can fix them back. but thanks to those Chinese cars, they cant. Sorry faced, they continue to play with the broken cars and continue to hammer them. Each day, I try in my mind,not to stop them from hammering :), other wise they would end up like one of my dolls, which my mom told me " dont play too much, it will become dirty " :).

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  8. Good one, Jane. Talk about getting your doll married off - i had one which i got married off quite grandly but could not part with it so snatched it back right after the ceremony...;) Mean!

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  9. Repeat slowly after me:
    must have new toy
    must have new toy
    must have new toy
    must have new toy

    I enjoyed ripping the toy open to see how it would or would not work. I had this fancy 'omported' chopper once, which, when you think about it was actually quite lame. All it did was back off and go in a different direction if it hit an obstacle. It couldn't fly. it lasted 20 minutes. It was made of transparent plastic and you could see the gears and springs inside begging to be taken apart...

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  10. well....have to give it to the boys for a fantastic imagination...truck. monster, transformer, dinosaur.....wow!!!!

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  11. butter - did you train my boys by any chance? their deviousness smacks of yours ! ahem !

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