It’s no secret that I have never outgrown my love of toys, especially little one and ones that spark my imagination. In fact, one of my favorite stores near me is “Big Fun Toys.” I love to wander their shelves, both with and without my nieces and nephews, and usually buy something to enjoy, such as the magic drinking bird or miniature replicas of classic toys.
I’ve written before about available toys for girls in the 1970s. From 2019:
As a little girl in the 1970s, I wasn’t a tomboy, but I also wasn’t a “girlie girl.”
I fell in the middle, a misfit of sorts, and always sympathized with those toys relegated to the Island of Misfit Toys in the classic “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” especially the polka-dotted elephant.
Toy options for little girls like me in the 1970s included various models of Barbie dolls including Cher and Farrah Fawcett, Shrinky Dinks, Easy Bake Oven, paper dolls, Holly Hobbie, Fashion Plates, Spirograph, and baby dolls.
While the Spirograph and Shrinky Dinks were okay, the rest?
No, thank you.
My little brother, on the other hand, always received the coolest toys for Christmas and his birthday, so I played with them instead.
I spent hours creating highways out of the plastic, orange track that my brother’s die-cast cars could take back and forth to work or use to race their nemeses. I took pleasure in building cities and creatures out of his collection of hard, plastic interlocking blocks in all shades of primary colors. I could pretend and use my imagination to create stories using my little people figures that didn’t have females conforming to the societal stereotypes of the era when I played with toys marketed to boys.
https://jillocone.com/2019/12/14/a-new-hope-indeed/
While going through boxes recently, I found a treasure trove of toys from yesteryear that were some of my favorites: die-cast cars as I referenced above, and Fisher Price Little People. I cleaned them up, and yes, I played with them, several times now.
I liked Little People because they allowed my imagination to come alive by creating stories for each figure. Even though their collective appearances suggested perpetural happiness, their little smiles always made me smile. The few I kept in my memory box (the little blonde me, the smiling doggy, and the cute little clown) I transferred to my office shelves just a few weeks ago. Now that I have them all again, I’ll keep them on hand to kickstart my creativity and to play with whenever I want to. And maybe some of them will get a coveted ride-along in my race cars!
It was fitting to find my toys almost the same day we collectively learned Paul Reubens, a.k.a. Pee-wee Herman, passed away. I’ve only cried at a handful of celebrity deaths… Carrie Fisher, Tom Petty, and Chris Farley are a few that made me shed tears.
Add Reubens to that list.
I absolutely loved Pee-wee Herman. He was silly and childlike, whimsical and kind, and like me, someone who loved to play. My Saturday mornings weren’t complete if I didn’t watch Pee-wee’s Playhouse, even during my teenage years. I felt at home with his collection of talking objects, especially Chairry and Jambi (Meka Leka Hi Meka Hiney Ho!), and his colorful friends Cowboy Curtis (played by the incomparable Laurence Fishburne), Captain Carl (we miss you so, Phil Hartman!), Reba the Mail Lady (portrayed by Emmy/Golden Globe/Screen Actors Guild/NAACP Image Award Winner S. Epatha Merkerson), among so many others. I’d dance along with the theme song (written and performed by Cyndi Lauper!) and scream like a moron if anyone I encountered said Pee-wee’s word of the day. I may not know what the heck I did yesterday, but I can still recite almost every word of one of my favorite movies ever, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.
I cried when I read about his passing because Pee-wee was joy, curiosity, compassion, empathy, and fun all rolled up into one. Regardless of poor choices he may have made in his past, he delighted in life and left an indelible mark of whimsicality.
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I will close my post with this question for you: Will you come play with me?
Thank you for joining me on my journey. I’m glad you are here.
With light and love,
Jill
“Come Play” was posted on jillocone.com on August 9, 2023. Views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the writer, who was not endorsed or compensated in any manner by any entity; views do not represent any of my employers. Copyright 2023, Jill Ocone. All rights reserved. Contact Jill with reposting, licensing, and publishing inquiries using any of the links below.
Jill Ocone 
