Favorite Childhood Toy

Hebe asked: "Describe your favourite childhood toy".

Dear Hebe

One of my favourite childhood toys was a jewellery box. It opened at the top, then swung out at the sides and had all sorts of little drawers and boxes in drawers. I would spend many hours dreaming of what jewels I would like to have to put in these drawers.


I began saving money people gave me so I could place an order with my Aunt Wyona. She lived abroad and would bring back jewellery. Aunt Mary may have some of these in her jewellery box now -- you could ask her to show them to you if she has any of them. These included a blue sapphire ring, an opal ring (my birth stone), a red ruby ring, a small owl charm carved out of ivory that hung on a gold chain, and a topaz ring.

Then I began to collect different types of chains - box, snake, wheat, curb ... usually made of sterling silver and purchase with my mother in Calgary.

Then next I got a charm bracelet. I

still have it. Ask me to show it to you if you like when you are here next. It is sterling silver and then my mother would buy me charms to help me remember important events (e.g., a trophy for when I won a trophy in the speech festival, a christmas tree, a shoe that opened to reveal an old woman who lived in a shoe with so many children she didn't know what to do ...).

My favourite toy is my iPod shuffle plugged in to my Bose noise-cancellation headphones. When I put the headphones on and listen to my favourite music, I feel happy and want to get up and move. My current favourite song is "Bubbly Toes" by Jack Johnson. It has this great line that goes something like this. "When you move like a jellyfish rhythm means nothing, you go with the flow, you don't stop." I envision a lot more dancing in my future. I hope you will come back soon and dance with me.

Signed,

an Aunt who studies other people's jewellery and talks to them about it (whether she knows them or not).