Photo: L. Weikel

Odd Penchant

I’m starting to wonder if somehow my youth was stunted or in some other way deprived. I say that because, clearly, I have an odd penchant for anthropomorphizing my vegetables.

I don’t know what to say. When I was a little kid, I was not one to play with dolls – at least, not the stereotypical or traditional ‘baby dolls.’ But man…I do remember Liddle Kiddles, though.

Wow, in the process of seeing if I could find a link to an image of Liddle Kiddles, I became completely distracted by and lost in memories from when I was 7 or 8 years old. Since my siblings were all significantly older than I was, and we lived ‘out in the country,’ I spent a lot of time playing by myself. Believe me, I grew up a long time before there was anything remotely called a play date.

When I found this link to Liddle Kiddles and see their little faces and accessories, I can suddenly still smell the bendy plastic they were made of and remember their outfits as if it were yesterday – or another life.  Of the ‘original ten’ Kiddles created in 1966, I definitely remember having Bunson Burnie, Calamity Jiddle, Howard “Biff” Boodle, Lola Liddle, and Liddle Diddle. Remembering this right now is just so peculiar!

I also played with Trolls. I loved their hair and their naked, androgynous little bodies. I’m pretty sure they, too, had that same rubbery-plastic smell that all dolls of that ilk had back in the ‘60s.

Today It’s Vegetables

What can I say?

I picked up our family’s vegetables from the CSA today and noticed we received a bounty of adorably provocative carrots. Ah yes, I’ve grown up and now instead of Calamity Jiddle and Biff Boodle, I see soft porn in my veggies.

Hardly even soft! But tell me these carrots don’t look just a tad bit risqué?

I don’t know about the middle one. It seems to be a little kid throwing a fishing line into a creek. The one on the left is just kickin’ back, chillin’ out. I could almost imagine it smoking a cigarette and reaching for a beer. And the one on the right? Hmm. It’s probably best if I leave that to your own imaginations.

I’m sure at least some of you know this tendency to anthropomorphize is a distinct part of my personality. You may remember this post. Or this one. Of course, this odd predilection of mine undoubtedly enhances my ability to read the clouds the way I do.

Makes Me Laugh

All I know is, my humor may occasionally be juvenile and my imagination may be abundantly fertile, but I’m often able to use those attributes to find something to make me smile in this chaotic, often depressing world.

If it’s anthropomorphizing carrots, so be it. Whimsy, fantasy, imagination, laughter…these are the things in my life that I want to cultivate.

Small seeds. I’m planting small seeds.

(T-437)