Box of Barbies

It was a fun day in many ways for my old childhood friend, Liz and me.  Our intention for the day was to go to Merchantville for the "town-wide yard sale and exhibition of vintage toys."  We had no idea what to expect and never expected what we saw.

First we stopped off at Salad Works in Collingswood for the super healthy "Pick two" lunch which is soup, salad and a delicious hot wheat roll.  Parking can be a challenge, but I always manage.

My pal, Liz and I take turns driving and since my car is the older and more worse for the wear, Liz is kind enough to take the longer drives while I do the short runs, so today was my turn.  Liz is also very flexible about where we go and how we hop around, a very valuable trait in a travel companion.  

The yard sale turned out to be about 20 or 30 white top kiosks under which were displayed pyramids of plastic modern toys:  super heroes, matchbox cars, and the vintage (I presume) lay in the vast array of Star Wars characters: droids, and one exceptionally interesting item, a three foot tall Darth Vader.  I imagine he was outraged at the low price taped on his chest $15!  Darth Vader, the Lord of the Dark Force, Skywalker's father, discounted down to a ten dollar bill and five ones.  He stood there sulking but he couldn't compare with the pathos of the box of Barbies.

To my friend Liz, I said "Oh Barby has it come to this?  Cast off naked by the dozens in a cardboard box, all that glamour, the ice cream shoppe' and the hair salon, the rock studio, the Bar B'Que shop, the red convertible, the outings on the yacht with playboy Ken - all down to being dumped in a cardboard box with 30 lookalikes.  I almost wanted to buy them and dress them up and give them a little room of their own.

I imagined Darth Vader and the Barbies bemoaning their fallen state in 2019.  They weren't broken or damaged, simply unwanted and cast-off like Donald Trumps' wives.  

However, being at the age where I am divesting myself (or wishing I were divesting myself) of the accumulated flotsam and jetsam of a long life-time, I couldn't rescue these forlorn figures who once led movie marvelous lives, who once were loved and even feared, coveted and purchased and now- - -

We went to the Railroad Station Cafe' and I had a large gelato to drown my sorrows then we drove to a Wawa for a couple of coffee pic-me-ups which we enjoyed down at Red Bank Battlefield, watching the sun glint over the mighty Delaware River.  I ran into an old volunteer friend there, Harry Schaeffer and we caught up on some of the James and Ann Whittal House news, then we headed home.  I had cats and a dog to feed, and Liz had a hungry son to make dinner for.  We agreed we had a marvelous day.  Sometimes the simplest things nearby can be the most fun.  You don't have to take a cruise or a jet to a foreign city to be delighted or to see beautiful scenery or a foreign bazaar, just drive to  a nearby town or river!

Happy Trails,
Jo Ann
wrightj45@yahoo.com