Chatty Cathy Frenzy

I wanted her so badly, I could almost imagine she was right beside me. Every girl in my second grade class except me had one – or so it seemed. Most of them had gotten their Chatty Cathy’s for Christmas and now it was almost the middle of July; my birthday just around the corner. I had dropped hints nearly every day since first laying my eyes on the doll.

“Mom, you should have been there. All the girls brought their Chatty Cathy’s to school – she’s awesome! You just pull the ring and she says, ‘I love you’ or ‘Please take me with you.’ And she says a lot of other things too – eleven in all.” Then I turned to Dad. “She’s really cute, Dad. She has the cutest blue dress with a white eyelet over-blouse and blue shoes and EVERYTHING,” I exclaimed. I never wasted an opportunity to let my folks know my life depended on this doll.

The twenty inch blue eyed blonde doll had been born in 1959 and she had made a grand entrance into my Osmond, Nebraska classroom in the early 60’s. The pull string mechanism that connected to a simple phonograph record inside the doll, made her the first successful talking doll. The girls that had one under their Christmas tree, became the envy of all of us that did not.

My eyes bulged when I saw Mom carrying the long narrow box – just the right size for Chatty Cathy – to the dining room table where the other birthday presents sat. It was wrapped in bright colored paper with a bow on top. My wish had come true! Tonight, I would be snuggled down in bed with Chatty Cathy! I fidgeted through the cake and homemade ice-cream until it was finally time to unwrap gifts.

I couldn’t wait to get to Chatty Cathy, but I also wanted to leave the best for last. I opened the gifts from my grandparents, my aunt and uncle, and my siblings. Finally, my brother slid the long narrow gift in front of me. I gently removed the bow and handed it back to Mom where it would be recycled for the next birthday. Then I ripped, digging my little fingers beneath the staples at the end of the sturdy cardboard box. My family looked on; waiting to see my reaction to the biggest and grandest present. I yanked, the staples loosened, and a musty smell escaped from the box. What? This wasn’t at all what Chatty Cathy would smell like. I wasn’t sure if it was the smell or the disappointment that was making me queasy. I stared into the dark box; seeing nothing that resembled a doll. I pulled out a lump of heavy folded green canvas, some cold metal poles, and several stakes. I looked closer at the outside of the box. Staring back at me was a picture of a pup tent. A pup tent! I refused to believe it. I tried to hide my distress and my tears. My heart was crushed.

To this day, I do not know why my parents chose to ignore my pleas for a Chatty Cathy and give me a pup tent instead. Maybe it’s because they knew I was not a dolly kind of girl. (My favorite gift up to this point had been a big green and yellow 18 wheeler.) They may have known the novelty would wear off quickly and a pup tent was more practical.

I am grateful, now, that my parents did not give me everything I asked for when it came to birthdays and Christmases (the only times we received gifts.) That disheartening incident helped me to realize I can live without a lot of things and it’s not the end of the world. Denying oneself tends to build character – where as satisfying our every whim is counterproductive. Did you know that 90% of storage facilities in the world are located in the United States – where people pay money to store things they never or rarely use? (statista.com) I’m not saying we can’t purchase things we want once in awhile, but we should be aware of our motives. Many compulsive buyers are trying to fulfill a need they feel deep inside, but Jeremiah 2:13 tells us they are barking down a dry well. For my people have done two evil things: They have forsaken me, the fountain of Life-giving Water; and they have built for themselves broken cisterns that can’t hold water!

If you want happiness at its best – it’s not a better job, a bigger house, glamorous clothes, a fancy car, or any number of things that’s going to bring more than a temporary high. Only God in your heart can fill that void. No matter how much you have, if you don’t have Him, you’ll only bring forth dust from the well.

I’m guessing my folks knew that.

Until next month – keep on readin’ and I’ll keep on writin’.