Is there anything wrong with a 40-year-old man playing with a Donny and Marie record box on a rainy Monday afternoon? Before you answer, I’m curious to know if you have any toys from your childhood that you’ve moved from house to house. Any faded, tattered, juice-stained items that have managed to escape the Goodwill for decades.
My dad was a DJ on an AM station in the 60s and 70s. When he was at work, I was spinning hot stacks of wax, too. First, “Mary Had A Little Lamb” on my Fisher –Price record player, and later Paul McCartney 45s on my first real turntable. Looking through the old record box in 2013 was like walking through my own personal museum. The smell of the vinyl, the sights of the faded record labels, and, without anything to play them on, imagining the scratchy sounds of Otis Redding and John Denver. It was nice to remember what carefree really feels like, before the baby cried, the phone rang, and my chicken casserole burned.
What’s the key to your time machine? My Facebook friends told me Weebles, lightsabers, and Cabbage Patch Kids have similar magical powers to my Donny and Marie record box, which admitted is neither a little bit country nor a little bit rock-n-roll. While our treasures are far from mint condition, to us, they are priceless. Now, as I watch my own kids play, I’m reminded it’s not “just” a doll, or a dump truck, or an Easy-Bake oven. One day, when daddy can’t be there, a teeny-tiny chocolate cake baked with a light bulb might be able to make everything better.
Asheville TV and radio personality Ken Ulmer is a doting husband, fun-loving daddy of 4-year-old Abby and 1-year-old Charlie, awesome tea party guest, and contributor to ToyBoxAsheville.com. Contact him at RadioTVKen@gmail.com.
