Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Girls just wanna have fun...and Strawberry Shortcake.

Around lunchtime I went with one of my friends to a doctor's appointment in Atoka. I went along just in case he had to get a shot, or something, and couldn't drive himself back.

Atoka was one of the places that I lived before my parents divorced, so I was pretty excited to see it again.

After his appointment, we drove around, and I saw one of the houses we lived in.
I didn't really recognize it much, since I was pretty young when we lived there.

As we were driving away, I remembered something my mom told me, and when I remembered it, I laughed so hard I couldn't talk.

When I was about 5, close to the time of my 6th birthday, my dad was working away, and my mom stayed home with me and my brother.
It was almost my birthday, and my dad had sent my mom $500 for groceries, random stuff, and also so I could get this bicycle that I wanted.

It wasn't just any bicycle. It was a Strawberry Shortcake bicycle.

In those days, I had a hard-on for all things Strawberry Shortcake. I had every doll, accessory, ensemble, sheet set, and baby carriage ever made. All I 'needed' was this bike to round out my collection.
My mom and dad promised me this particular bike, and we went to the toy store every week to have a look at it.

On the day of my birthday, my mom had the check my dad had sent her, so our first stop was the bank. Check cashed, wallet loaded with money, Mom decided our first stop would be the grocery store. We had a few mundane things to buy, and as she paid for our groceries and was arranging the items in our car, somehow, someway, someone stole her wallet. With better than $400, and the money for my bike.
Mom told me that she was immediately sick to her stomach. She searched frantically through the bags of groceries, the parking lot, everywhere, for her wallet.
She even went back into the store to see if she had left it there.
No dice.
At this point, she was almost hysterical. She spoke with the manager of the store, who notified the police.
Mom made a report, and afterwards, we drove home.
Mom told me that she was more upset about my birthday, and not being able to purchase the bike, than the thought of having the money stolen.

Later that day, she came to me, and asked me if I would maybe like to have a doll instead. Nope.
She told me "Sal, let's go see what you have in your crayola bank, and we'll buy you a doll or something. We'll wait to get your bike until your dad comes home. That way, you can show him!"

We walked into my room, hand in hand, and Mom said that she thought there would probably be enough money saved in my bank to buy me a doll, or something else I wanted until my dad could send more money.
I walked over to my crayola bank, opened it up, and started pulling money out.

Now, my parents were both big on me saving money. My dad used to let me have all the change out of his pockets, along with the occasional dollar or fiver.

As we opened up the bank, my mom's face got very still, very pale, and she started to cry.
I nonchalantly started pulling money out of it. Change? A little. Mostly $20's, $10's, and a lot of $5's. Even one of my dad's paychecks.
Apparently, I was quite the industrious little banker.

Mom told me later, that there was more money in that bank than she had lost in her wallet.

And I got my bike. :)









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That memory was pretty sweet, a little saccharine, so I thought I'd also include this video, which to me is hilarious.

Enjoy.

21 comments:

tennysoneehemingway said...

Now that's the way to start a Wednesday. This post has just put the biggest smile on my face and it's going to stay there the rest of the day. And no, I'm not talking just the film clip - that was funny though. Thanks Sal.

Anonymous said...

What a great story! I'm going to post a link to it on twitter- more people need to see this.

That video was funny as hell.

Mr. Condescending said...

I can't watch the video on my bb!

I liked that story sal, I'm glad it ended happy, and involved hidden cash!

Mighty Hunter said...

Hey, Sal, here from Twitter. Thank Imnotbenny.

What a great story. Your father and mother clearly loved you very much. I'm glad that all's well that ended well. :)

Gwen said...

NotBenny sent me and I'm so glad he did. That is an awesome story!

Meg said...

So you wanna lend me some money? That's what you're saying, surely. I had a banana-seat biked that I called my pony. I rode it everywhere imaging it was a horse. What a beaut she was!
Great story. I wish I knew how to save a freaking penny, more or less someone else's paycheck (sneaky devil)!

miss. chief said...

makes me want to check the boyfriend's kids' piggy banks

Sally-Sal said...

Tennys:
I'm glad you liked it! I thought it might be a little too sappy for a Wednesday, but if it makes you happy, win/win!

Imnotbenny:
My sister is the one who showed me some of those inappropriate soundtrack clips on youtube. This one was definitely my favorite! I laugh everytime I watch it.

Thank you for the twitter love. I'm flattered that you thought enough of my post to link to it :o)

Mr. C:
You definitely should watch the video. I recommend it :o)
And hidden cash is always good. It's like winning the lotto!

Mighty Hunter:
Thank you! And thanks for stopping by :o)
I've been blessed with some really great people in my life, my mom being the beginning of a very long list.

Gwen:
Thanks for stopping by. I'm glad you liked the story.
I thought it was pretty funny that I was such a packrat. And stealer of my dad's paychecks ;)

One Sassy Girl:
One thing I want more than anything is to have another crayola bank like that one! I seriously miss that thing...

Your bike story made me laugh really hard. Did you make horse noises while riding it? Did you name it?

I wish I was still that good at saving money. :o)

miss.chief:
Haha! They're probably holding out on you :o)
To use one of Imnotbenny's lines "That crayola bank was made of win!"

Cheesy said...

OMG!!! That story rocked lol... you were a little klepo eh?
You know something funny? A couple of years back I ran across an old Strawberry Shortcake doll in the back of the storage closet...and it still had smell! [the girls are 28 and 31 lol]

NWO said...

I guess you've been full of surprises your whole life, eh? Whatta gurl!

jerrod said...

I was feeling so sad for your mom... asking you to kind of buy your own present.... then you shocked everyone with your embezzling skills. Two things : you rock and I want to meet your mom. give her a hug.

Proud Maisie said...

Awesome story. It's the sort of thing that I can imagine my little sister doing, actually...
And the video was a stroke of genius.

Lana said...

that was a great story :)

and if the strawberry shortcake bike was the one with the pink streamers and white basket, i had the same one!!

Maryx said...

Stunning story! Aren't you just the little life saver? =) So proud of you! But... that means you bought your own bike?

That video.. disturbing as always!!

ladytruth said...

I've never been a big saver really. A big spender? Yes, indeed! I admire people who can remember that far back. The only memory I have of me being five years old was my grandmother and her stomach cancer. When I asked my mom why Gran goes to the loo so much, all she said was: "The older you get, the more crap you need to let go." Can you tell that my dad's mother was a difficult lady at best?

Christina said...

The paycheck of your Father's in your piggybank brought back to mind, what I did to my Father's paycheck many, many moons ago! We lived in one of the many Philadelphia suburbs & it was during the summer - we had just finished cooking chicken I think on the grill & I wanted toasted marshmallows! So I ran into the house grabbed what I thougt was a piece of paper off the kitchen counter and threw it onto the coals - a wonderful fire erupted and the marshmallows were delicious & the check was a BIG amount. I wasn't punished because in all reality, it was just an accident! Then another episode came to mind when I was commenting! A contribution to the basket being passed around at Church - My Mother said go into my purse and pull out a dollar - lol, I guess the dollar was a 100 dollar bill!

Alyson said...

That ending was not what I expected at all. I'll bet you were a little heartbreaker as well as a wallet breaker.

Soda and Candy said...

I loved Strawberry Shortcake too! But I was shit at saving money.

Sally-Sal said...

Cheesy:
I was!
And I remember that doll...I had one. I bet your girls would be tickled to know that you found her. :o)

NWO:
I guess that's true :o) Although, at times, I'm sure 'being full of surprises' wore my mom out :)

j:
She's a pretty amazing lady. Sometimes I have to hug her, just for putting up with me and all my shenanigans.

Good thing I got that whole embezzling thing out of my system by the time I was 6.

Proud Maisie:
That video made me laugh really hard. There are a few more on youtube, but I think that one is my favorite.

Lana:
Twinsies! We had the same bike. And I loved those freakin' streamers!

Mega8815:
I guess I kind of did... But I got the bike, which is all that mattered to me :o)

ladytruth:
I love that you call it 'the loo'. And Gran sounded like a handful ;)

Christina:
I sometimes use my old checks from my old bank as post-it notes. I never write checks. They make me feel like they're just IOU's on pretty paper.

OWO:
I had my moments ;) I just have to say that my mom must've been a saint. There were other, less pleasant times. Like the time I built a 'pool' in our front yard....

Soda and Candy:
I credit my money saving skills with that badass red crayola bank. I loved that thing.

Meg said...

Duh, It whinnied and make clip-clop noises with every turn of its wheels. The streamers on its handlebars were like a mane and I'd be lying to say I never brushed them. Luckily, the bike was eventually put to pasture and a live horse took its place. I fell off the live one loads more than the wheeled one.

Shaunak Mukherjee said...

Does the video actually say "keep away, the Sal is mine!" at the end?