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- Story Listed as: True Life For Adults
- Theme: Family & Friends
- Subject: Biography / Autobiography
- Published: 03/09/2018
Kathy cleaned out a bunch of toys for the grandkids today. Some like the three “Woodies” from Toy Story, were mainstays of their play time for over a year. The largest Woody (stuffed like a Raggedy Ann doll) and the most pliable was subjected to the most humiliation. Sometimes he was “rushed to the hospital” and covered with so many bandaids that recovery was doubtful.
Other times he had so much scotch tape, string, and hair ties wrapped around him- he could barely move. Of course he couldn’t move, the bad guys had tied him up. Only Buzz Light Year could (and did) save him from the humiliation- and remove the duck tape muzzle from his lips.
Sometimes he even had to play being a girl. My grandkids would cover him in lipstick, powder, perfume- and if that was not enough to make Woody shudder with embarrassment - they dressed him in everything from chiffon to aluminum foil! Drag Queens on the West Coast were crying with envy. And when they ran out of blush, they used crayons. Sometimes it looked like poor Woody wasn’t a “woman” but a person suffering from some sort of Medieval Plague.
Kathy and I got a small glimpse into the mind of hoarders. For as Kathy chose which of their myriad of toys to keep for bit longer, and which to throw out today- like Woody in all his iterations; a memory would spring up. We could hear the shrieks of joy as the kids played with the toys, and Kathy acted as the Hospital Director, Hairdresser, or Chief Negotiator to get Woody free from the bad guys.
Kathy plays with those kids, and hence the toys too- for hours. Currently Lambchops has taken the limelight. She plays Hide and Seek, reads books, and listens intently as the kids forget that Kathy is the voice of Lambchops. They play school, have tea time, and even get up to some mischief that leaves cookie crumbs in unexpected places.
As Kathy carried the huge bag of discarded toys, old games, busted crayons, stubs of chalk, empty tape rolls, cut up paper, and the three Woodies down to the garbage and recycle bins- she also lugged with her a thousand fond memories. You don’t know how much you remember, until you remember.
Toys are like people- sometimes they are the center of your life, the focus. Other times, well, they get put away for a while. Still other times they show up in an unexpected memory- and flash back instantly into full joy. I guess you even learn by playing, how to let go, move on, or keep memories.
I know when our Grandchildren are thirty or forty years old, they will come across an old ragged Woody at a flea market. Pick it up with reverence and show it to each other. I can even hear their conversation:
Penny: “Look Lincoln- I found an old Woody. Remember him?”
Lincoln: “Oh, wow. Nanny and you and I used to put that poor guy through so much pain and humiliation.”
They would both smile as their memories surfaced - and then a mischievous smirk would form on Penny’s face:
“Should we tie him up, cover him with bandaids and see if Buzz can save him?’
Lincoln’s face would light up then.
“Yeah. I will get the band aides.”
And for a moment, time would mean little if anything.
Toys, People, Time, all blend into memory and life, and this morning the three are jostling with each other to come to the forefront of my thoughts.
Smiles, Kevin the toy story.
Toy Story.(Kevin Hughes)
Kathy cleaned out a bunch of toys for the grandkids today. Some like the three “Woodies” from Toy Story, were mainstays of their play time for over a year. The largest Woody (stuffed like a Raggedy Ann doll) and the most pliable was subjected to the most humiliation. Sometimes he was “rushed to the hospital” and covered with so many bandaids that recovery was doubtful.
Other times he had so much scotch tape, string, and hair ties wrapped around him- he could barely move. Of course he couldn’t move, the bad guys had tied him up. Only Buzz Light Year could (and did) save him from the humiliation- and remove the duck tape muzzle from his lips.
Sometimes he even had to play being a girl. My grandkids would cover him in lipstick, powder, perfume- and if that was not enough to make Woody shudder with embarrassment - they dressed him in everything from chiffon to aluminum foil! Drag Queens on the West Coast were crying with envy. And when they ran out of blush, they used crayons. Sometimes it looked like poor Woody wasn’t a “woman” but a person suffering from some sort of Medieval Plague.
Kathy and I got a small glimpse into the mind of hoarders. For as Kathy chose which of their myriad of toys to keep for bit longer, and which to throw out today- like Woody in all his iterations; a memory would spring up. We could hear the shrieks of joy as the kids played with the toys, and Kathy acted as the Hospital Director, Hairdresser, or Chief Negotiator to get Woody free from the bad guys.
Kathy plays with those kids, and hence the toys too- for hours. Currently Lambchops has taken the limelight. She plays Hide and Seek, reads books, and listens intently as the kids forget that Kathy is the voice of Lambchops. They play school, have tea time, and even get up to some mischief that leaves cookie crumbs in unexpected places.
As Kathy carried the huge bag of discarded toys, old games, busted crayons, stubs of chalk, empty tape rolls, cut up paper, and the three Woodies down to the garbage and recycle bins- she also lugged with her a thousand fond memories. You don’t know how much you remember, until you remember.
Toys are like people- sometimes they are the center of your life, the focus. Other times, well, they get put away for a while. Still other times they show up in an unexpected memory- and flash back instantly into full joy. I guess you even learn by playing, how to let go, move on, or keep memories.
I know when our Grandchildren are thirty or forty years old, they will come across an old ragged Woody at a flea market. Pick it up with reverence and show it to each other. I can even hear their conversation:
Penny: “Look Lincoln- I found an old Woody. Remember him?”
Lincoln: “Oh, wow. Nanny and you and I used to put that poor guy through so much pain and humiliation.”
They would both smile as their memories surfaced - and then a mischievous smirk would form on Penny’s face:
“Should we tie him up, cover him with bandaids and see if Buzz can save him?’
Lincoln’s face would light up then.
“Yeah. I will get the band aides.”
And for a moment, time would mean little if anything.
Toys, People, Time, all blend into memory and life, and this morning the three are jostling with each other to come to the forefront of my thoughts.
Smiles, Kevin the toy story.
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