Greetings all!!! And welcome to the inaugural post of the newly revamped site. This is going to be a regular thing, so mark you’re calendars, grab your snacks, and settle in for some “tawk”…
So today is my son’s 6th birthday… Boy, the time flies, doesn’t it?! Seems like yesterday I was holding him the first time, putting on his first little outfit, giving him his first toy… Now, he’s wearing superhero shorts and my tee shirts (no lie, he’s wearing my tee shirts… they are a bit big, but a small actually fits him pretty well), and I’m pretty sure soon he will have enough die-cast cars to hold his own Barrett-Jackson Car Auction in the backyard… I just have to convince him that no matter how pretty the color is, the Maclaren is more valuable than that BMW SUV… We’re working on that 😉
The day got me thinking about what I played with when I was that age… I posted it on my Author Page over on Facebook, as the question for the day… What was your favorite toy when you were 6 years old? my favorite was Peaches & Cream Barbie. 
She was my only Barbie at the time, and I played with her constantly, putting her in the few little outfits I had, or simply helping her dance in the magnificent dress she was wearing. It had that classic Ginger Rogers/ Fred Astaire look to it. Eventually, my cousin broke her, and poor headless, noseless Barbie was chucked in the garbage… I kept the dress and shoes, though, and, though many other Barbie’s and similar dolls wore that dress, it was never quite the same. Hopefully someday I can get her back again… You can find classic models from the 80s on eBay, but even the re-issue would satisfy me… I just want to hold her again, touch that part of childhood once more… I’m looking forward to seeing what others have to comment, what memorable playthings they recall.
Something else memorable that I recall from then… the music!!! I remember dancing that Barbie around to some classic 80’s tunes… Tears for Fears, Mister Mister, Culture Club, Lionel Richie, and, of course, Michael Jackson. We listen to the music our parents do when we are that young, and I remember sitting in the living room in front of the console stereo looking through my mom’s LPs… Those covers are seared in my brain, and often when I’m browsing through albums at flea markets and thrift stores, I’m looking for those images, and the music therein. I must admit, they are most frequently viewed on YouTube, and I have many of them on iTunes as well. I think it’s a common touchstone for many of us, recalling our childhood in that area… the world was full of turmoil and tension, and yet I never recall feeling scared about it… Perhaps the effect that the joyous, fun-loving, carefree vibe of that music had on my psyche… I wish that music could do that for kids today… With so much divisiveness and rage in this world, they need that lightness… I mean, admit it… It’s hard to feel hateful when you’re listening to Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You” or “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears.
Hold on to something… super fast Segway in 3…2…1…
One of my favorite shows is Psych, and if you haven’t watched it, you’re totally missing out. In some ways, this comedy has had a very real influence on my writing… Like many of my generation, who grew up with the multi-layer humor of the Muppets and came of age under the wing of Joss Whedon’s Buffyverse wordage, the style and substance of a show like Psych is bread and butter… In a general sense, we are a generation of “geeks”, living in the now, yet still attached to the music, films, cartoons, playthings, video games and overall vibe of our youth. The show demonstrated that… as you follow the adventures of the main characters, Shawn and Gus, you are treated to a banquet of 80s nostalgia, from Airwolf jackets to Cosby Show references to actual appearance by 80s icons such as Curt Smith (of Tears for Fears), Karate Kid Ralph Macchio, and at least half of the Brat Pack, I think. it got a bit week in the later seasons… sometimes the greatest achievement in a show is knowing when to end it… But those early seasons were amazing, and I so enjoy watching them late night in reruns… And now, suddenly, I’m craving pineapple… Hmmm…
As you may have noticed, I am a long-winded writer LOL… I don’t know as all my posts will be this long, but this was fun and I hate to have it end… but it’s time to say that’s all for now. Until next time…
GABRIELLA MESSINA WRITES 