After barking and growling a little and frightening my sister away from my door, I went back to the task at hand and it wasn’t long before I had completed toy selection, round two. I have now chosen the twenty-five most desirable toys from the Sears-Roebuck catalog. Next task, round three, select the fifteen most desirable toys from the Western Auto catalog. My palms were sweaty, my respirations increased, and I briefly looked at the front of the catalog, and boldly turned it to page one and began. With no interruptions, I should be able to complete the selections in about an hour. Forty-five minutes later, I was down to a list of twenty-three desirable toys, comparing pros and cons to try to get down to the fifteen tops. I stepped back from the table holding the catalog and took a couple of deep breaths.
I exhaled and headed back to the table, when there was a ringing, boom, boom, boom, on the door of my room. It was Becky again. No, oh crap, I thought. What now? “What?” I called out. “Open your door, wimp. Momma said I could watch TV in your room. She is watching Mr. Lucky, and I want to watch Rudolph.” Becky seemed to be gloating. “No.” I yelled. “Go watch your TV.” “My TV is broken.” She replied. I swear I could ‘hear’ her smile. “Open the door.” She again said. “No.” I again yelled. Becky sweetly said in a loud voice, “Momma, he won’t open the door.” UGH!!…I would love to tie her by her pigtails to the back of my bicycle and drag her down the street. Then my Mom called, “Paul, open the door and let her watch TV.” But I already had a plan. I walked to the door, unlocked it and opened it. There she stood, with that sneaky grin on her face. I stood firmly in the doorway to block her entrance, reached beside the door and picked up my small 13″ TV and shoved it into her arms before she could speak. The smile on her face quickly disappeared. I stepped back, closed the door and locked it. I yelled, “Hey witch, Rudolph’s on channel 3.” I laughed loudly.
I returned to the important task before me of trimming that Western Auto toy list to fifteen. Twenty minutes later, I was down to seventeen. I just couldn’t bring myself drop the Tonka dump truck that was all metal, with an actual operating dump bed on it. I mean, this truck was awesome. It was 14″ tall. This was the kind of truck every kid dreams of. I already had a bag of 100 plastic army men on my Sears-Roebuck toy list, so I will just take the 100 army men off this list, add another 100 to the other list and then count that as one toy. Now I’m down to sixteen. I’ll put one toy on reserve just in case Mom rejects one of my final selections.
I have finished round three of toy selection. I now have a list of forty, plus one reserve, to negotiate with Mom. She negotiates on price, I negotiate on quantity and desirability. The list will probably be trimmed down to the 12 or 15 best and most desirable toys. But, of course, I’ll go for everything I can get. We’ll see who is the best negotiator…tomorrow.
Your own TV? In 1960? You are turning out to be a spoiled kid with a long list of materialistic toys foremost in your mind. And to top that, mean to your sister.
Maria, raised in the Mafia and educated by the gangs of New York, is hunting the man who killed her Akalina, and she will kill anyone who gets in her way.
Raised on Black and White TV is Carol Denise Mitchell’s intimate, unflinching memoir of growing up in a world where television became both a refuge and a mirror. Through the glow of classic black‑and‑white programs, she learned about fami
After barking and growling a little and frightening my sister away from my door, I went back to the task at hand and it wasn’t long before I had completed toy selection, round two. I have now chosen the twenty-five most desirable toys from the Sears-Roebuck catalog. Next task, round three, select the fifteen most desirable toys from the Western Auto catalog. My palms were sweaty, my respirations increased, and I briefly looked at the front of the catalog, and boldly turned it to page one and began. With no interruptions, I should be able to complete the selections in about an hour. Forty-five minutes later, I was down to a list of twenty-three desirable toys, comparing pros and cons to try to get down to the fifteen tops. I stepped back from the table holding the catalog and took a couple of deep breaths.
I exhaled and headed back to the table, when there was a ringing, boom, boom, boom, on the door of my room. It was Becky again. No, oh crap, I thought. What now? “What?” I called out. “Open your door, wimp. Momma said I could watch TV in your room. She is watching Mr. Lucky, and I want to watch Rudolph.” Becky seemed to be gloating. “No.” I yelled. “Go watch your TV.” “My TV is broken.” She replied. I swear I could ‘hear’ her smile. “Open the door.” She again said. “No.” I again yelled. Becky sweetly said in a loud voice, “Momma, he won’t open the door.” UGH!!…I would love to tie her by her pigtails to the back of my bicycle and drag her down the street. Then my Mom called, “Paul, open the door and let her watch TV.” But I already had a plan. I walked to the door, unlocked it and opened it. There she stood, with that sneaky grin on her face. I stood firmly in the doorway to block her entrance, reached beside the door and picked up my small 13″ TV and shoved it into her arms before she could speak. The smile on her face quickly disappeared. I stepped back, closed the door and locked it. I yelled, “Hey witch, Rudolph’s on channel 3.” I laughed loudly.
I returned to the important task before me of trimming that Western Auto toy list to fifteen. Twenty minutes later, I was down to seventeen. I just couldn’t bring myself drop the Tonka dump truck that was all metal, with an actual operating dump bed on it. I mean, this truck was awesome. It was 14″ tall. This was the kind of truck every kid dreams of. I already had a bag of 100 plastic army men on my Sears-Roebuck toy list, so I will just take the 100 army men off this list, add another 100 to the other list and then count that as one toy. Now I’m down to sixteen. I’ll put one toy on reserve just in case Mom rejects one of my final selections.
I have finished round three of toy selection. I now have a list of forty, plus one reserve, to negotiate with Mom. She negotiates on price, I negotiate on quantity and desirability. The list will probably be trimmed down to the 12 or 15 best and most desirable toys. But, of course, I’ll go for everything I can get. We’ll see who is the best negotiator…tomorrow.
