Everyone has those moments in life, that after years have passed they are still clearly remembered. Shining like beacons easily lifted back from memory.
One event I recall from childhood in the early 60’s was the day my Girl Scout Troop went to visit the home of a local doll collector. My family did not collect anything, so I wasn’t prepared for the sheer volume that a true collector can fill their home with.
This lady collected dolls, all kinds of dolls from vintage to modern. The main living area of the house had dolls scattered here and there. It was the finished attic housed the bulk of her collection. As we climbed the stairs, the magnitude of the collection started to show. Along the steps, clowns were tacked to the walls and marionettes hanging from the ceiling. The further into the attic we went the numbers of dolls increased becoming layer upon layer of bodies.
As an obsessed doll collector, this lady was way ahead of her time with the whole creepy “babies in attic”. The girls from the scout group were literally squealing with delight but for me I was becoming more frightened by the minute. Frozen to the center of the room and overwhelmed, the attic began spinning. I started to see doll eyes blinking with silent mouths starting to move. It was when I spotted a wire basket full of Barbie Doll heads that shear panic took over. I bolted screaming down the flight of stairs with clown arms grabbing at me as I descended. Running all the way home not even waiting to catch my breath, I quickly packed away my dolls. Thus ended my history as a girl scout and playing with dolls.
So isn’t it amusing that forty years later, I am now fascinated with doll assemblage. Who would have guessed certainly not my Girl Scout leader.
The newest member of Cirque de Livre
Sauterelle
a spinning skirt book
pages on the underside that will be used as a journal
"winter must be cold for those who have no memories" - quote from the movie An Affair to Remember
