painting and story by me.
music by Jon Duncan.
/ @singtomeofautumnleaves
This is a true story.
When I was a child I never had any new, nice toys that other kids around me had. No teddy bears, girly dolls. I did have toys : hand-me-downs, or stuff my parents or grandparents found from discarded piles of used things, something our neighbours threw out.
The first toy I had was a pink rubber pony. I think it was one of the My Little Pony series. I dunno where my granny got it. Maybe from a flea market. It was old, used, dirty. But it was PINK.
I was thrilled to have it. The pink of the pony was a big deal to me.
I felt I HAD SOMETHING COOL. A proper toy.
I remember we were going to have this show-and-tell session in school where we had to talk about our favourite toy. I was stressed out because I had NO toy at that time. Don't get me wrong. I had lots of fun playing at my grandparents' chicken farm. I just never played with proper toys like teddy bears or toy ponies or girly dolls. I played in nature...with rainwater, flowers, insects... I tried to make music with a leaf between my lips, I caught spiders and watched them fight, things like that. I never owned a thing called a toy that was MINE. Being gifted with a toy pony was a new experience to me.
I think I must have told my grandma about it (the show and tell thing) and she somehow found me this rubber pony. I took it to school and used it for the Show-and-Tell the next day.
I realised what seemed fancy to me was only a dull, second-hand rubber pony compared to the flashy cars and new barbie dolls other kids showed off.
I also remember feeling like such a fake because that wasn't my toy. I had no connection with it yet, having it for only a few hours, and trying to tell a story that wasn't mine.
(I preferred drawing and playing in nature.)