When I was five years old, I loved my blond-haired, blue-eyed Ginny doll. She didn’t have breasts or hips, like Barbie, thank god. Instead, she wore jeans and sneakers and braids in her hair, and, best of all, she had a pair of roller skates that really rolled. Of course, because I had openly shown my adoration for Ginny, and marveled at her roller skates, my brother had to grab her out of my hands and make her skate across the street. I couldn’t catch up to him; he was a worldly seven-year-old after all. And somehow, with all of the chasing and racing and grabbing and skating, Ginny lost one of her roller skates and no amount of searching could help me find it.
Me and Ginny
I don’t know what happened to the Ginny doll I had at five, but recently I looked Ginny up online, just to see if my memory of her was accurate, and I found her on eBay, pristine in her original box, with her roller skates. I could even buy her some new (old) outfits and a new dresser, with hangers, to keep it all in. But that would have been going too far.
Ginny likes to read.
I’m not sure what to do with her, now that she’s here. I was never quite sure how to play with dolls as a kid and I’m even more stumped now, but it’s a relief to have her back, and on a high enough shelf so that Cricket can’t chew her head off.
When I looked for Ginny on eBay, though, I found out that there was a brunette Ginny too. I thought all of them were blond. I assumed all dolls were blond when I was little, because I never saw one with brown hair like mine. As an adult, I thought maybe I should buy the brunette Ginny, to correct the past in some way, but I really wanted the Ginny doll I remembered. And that made me think, Oy, really? After twenty years of therapy, unresolved issues still have to pop up?
My best childhood friend was blond and looked a lot like my Ginny doll. Her family had more money and more stuff than we did, more games and toys and clothes and food and an in-ground pool in the backyard. Her mother took pity on my doll-less-ness and bought me a cabbage patch doll one year, another blond, and later on, she gave me a hand-me-down two foot tall plastic doll with long blond hair. My childhood friend and I weren’t really friends anymore by then. I still loved her, but, it’s a long story. One day when I was alone in my room feeling some inexplicable anger, let’s call it rage, I saw that two foot tall plastic doll with long blond hair sitting in the corner, and I took a pair of scissors and cut her hair down to the nubs. I can’t explain why I did it, or why I did the same thing to my own hair a few years later, but when it was done, I felt a little better.
Later, when my brother and his friend were into making videos, they stole my short-haired doll and made her the star of a movie called “Ten ways to kill a baby.” They hung her from a lamp post, drowned her in a pool, dropped her out a window and shot her with an arrow. I don’t remember the other things they tried. Clearly, I wasn’t the only one with anger issues.
My associations with blondness weren’t all negative, though. Around the same time as Ginny, I was enamored of Olivia Newton John, especially the version of Olivia from the movie Xanadu. She was a blond-haired muse come to life, on roller skates. She got to skate with Gene Kelly, and sing Xanadu and Magic and I loved her. I loved the other worldliness of her, with her blond hair and wispy white dress and spacey electronic music. The first record I ever owned was one of hers. The album itself, that big round black disk, felt like a magical thing. I held it out in front of me and twirled in a circle and felt like I was flying a plane and escaping from the down to earth world I had so little taste for.
Olivia in skates!
I still had mixed feelings about this blondness thing when I went looking for a new dog eight years ago. I grew up with black dogs. We had a lot of mutts and even our two pure bred dogs were Dobermans, mostly black with brown patches. I felt a kinship with the black dogs, maybe because I understood, without realizing it, that black-haired dogs had even more of a self esteem issue than I did, in a world where black dogs were usually the last to be chosen from the shelter. But after my black lab mix, Dina, died, I needed a change.
My Dina
I wasn’t quite ready for blond, though. I met the most adorable little red-haired Cockapoo at a pet store and when I could not choose her (because she cost $1300, and was clearly from a puppy mill, and I was just starting to have an idea of what those were), I went looking for a reputable Cockapoo breeder. I chose Cricket over the red heads because I liked her breeder more, and felt better about how she’d been raised, and I tried to ignore her white blond hair because I loved Cricket right away.
Cricket surrounded by her favorite toys!
The day we went to the shelter a year and a half ago was an impulse, not a plan. We thought we were going to volunteer to foster a dog, but I also had in mind a sister for Cricket, and we got sidetracked. I was looking for someone small, and calm, and older, but I had in mind a brown or black dog. And then I met little white-haired Butterfly and she smiled at me, and I was hooked.
Butterfly’s first day (before bath).
I’m afraid that people will look at my pretty blond dogs, and then look at me, and think I don’t fit. Clearly, these girls are adopted. But they carry that childhood magic for me, that Olivia Newton John, Ginny doll magic that made me feel like I could fly away.
I still feel disloyal to the dark haired girls and dogs like me, but I also know how lucky I am to have these particular blonds in my life. Seeing my dogs each morning is like looking at sunflowers, or eating a cupcake with a mile of frosting on top. There’s a chemical reaction when I see them that raises my neurotransmitters from their daily slog. I wouldn’t trade that for anything.
But, still, the temptation to put them in roller skates is extraordinary!
“We want roller skates, Mommy!
rachelmankowitz 
Wonderful. You pull wisps of thoughts and feelings and events together into a coherent, interesting and entertaining piece of writing.
Thank you so much!
Adorable. I’ve always had black toy poodles. Now I have a black Chihuahua. He’s a rescue and such a good dog.
I would love to have a tiny dog, but I worry that I’ll step on him or her. I’d kinda feel like Godzilla.
I have a little brown and white deer headed chihuahua named Momar
Blond. Brunette. Meh. At my age I find myself identifying with Mr. Clean dolls.
Do they make those?
Sadly, yes.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/321213052303?lpid=82
That is amazing!!!!!!!
I would love to see your dogs on roller skates!!
I’m a little worried their first try at roller skates would end up at the doctor’s office. But it would be a fun way to get there.
I’ve seen videos of dogs on skateboards, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one on roller skates!
Those skateboarding dogs are awesome!
The last line sums it all up–too funny! This is so strange though because when we were kids my sister was blond and I had dark hair. And a good friend of my parents bought my sister a blond-haired doll and me one with dark hair. Looking back though, I think most dolls were, and maybe still are, blond. Golly, what the heck is up with that?!
Maybe blond doll hair is easier to make?
Actually, it’s what’s selling.
As ever, super fun read. Love the pics!
Thank you!
Lovely story! I have tweeted it 🙂
Like you, when I was very young I thought that it was wonderful to be blonde. My most loved doll had blonde hair, too. I still have her, somewhere…
I wonder if this is why Cricket tries to sleep on my head: she thinks I’d look better with blond hair.
A great story that takes me back to my own childhood. My favorite “toys” were mudcakes. I made a 3-decker for my mother on Mother’s Day, and decorated it with flowers from the empty lot next door. It wasn’t exactly warmly received. How could she have known how beautiful I thought it was?
Cricket loves to give her grandma sticks and leaves and clumps of dirt, thankfully, her grandma likes these sorts of things.
I have a blond bombshell of a dog and I confess to a soft spot for the light ones. Isn’t it fun to look on Ebay for your old toys? This is such a well written piece, thank you!
Thank you!
I had some issues with the blond hair thing also. Cricket reminds me a lot of my husband’s grammie’s dog Chickie so I can’t help but smile at all of the stories about her. However when ever you post a picture of Butterfly with her smile, my heart melts big time.
Butterfly sends out her own equivalent of microwaves – that’s where the melting comes from.
😀
what a beautiful post. Sp sentimental, so poignant really. I love all the photos, your Dina was a beauty. And Cricket & Butterfly sweetest ever. 🙂
Thank you! Dina never knew she was pretty. She was so shy! But Cricket poses all day long.
different personalities! It is amazing- just like people! 🙂
I have a confession: I have a crush on Butterfly. Something about her just melts my heart.
We have toy poodles, all rescues, and the colors were all just happenstance. Princess is blonde, but when we met her she was naked (shaved because of some matting issues.) Gabi is silver, and she picked me out. Jojo is black, and I heard that Poodle Rescue had this little dog they couldn’t place, and now we are maxed out, poodle-wise. Color was just never the main issue, although I’m sure that had Jojo been any other color, we’d have missed out on her clowning, so I’m glad she’s a black dog.
Butterfly would love a family of toy poodles! Cricket might take a little bit longer to warm up, but one of her favorite people in the world it a black-haired miniature poodle she’s known since she was a baby.
I’m going blond myself-well at least my black fur is turning white in my dotage.The only difference I feel from being completely black to being “gray” is I feel a lot older 😦
No! You’re getting highlights! My friend teddy is getting some highlights on his chin and paws and I think it looks very distinguished.
Thank you. A really interesting and entertaining story which has set me wondering at all the subtle influences that affect the way we see our pets. I envy you your economy of scale. If honey decided to sleep on my head I probably wouldn’t be writing this comment.
The other night we had a defective smoke alarm going off every minute or so, telling the dogs that the alien attack was imminent. I had two fourteen pound dogs sitting on me and shaking. My ribs still haven’t forgotten it.
I love this piece! I am a momma of two blond doggies also. Lily and Poppy say hi to Cricket and Butterly! ps we share a love of Kate Atkinson I see!
Thank you! I loved her detective series, especially. They made a TV version that was sort of cut down, but not bad.
Yes I saw that and it was good. I’m kind of in love with Brodie!
Plus, if you haven’t read Karin slaughter I can recommend her too. But you gotta read the series for the beginning!
I’ll check it out. Thanks!
😉
Reblogged this on Linda's wildlife garden and commented:
Awesome have a blessed day
What a delightful post. I can just imagine Cricket and Butterfly in roller skates. Ears flapping in the wind, tongues lolling sideways and both barking with happiness 🙂
I may have to go back to eBay and see if they have a few pairs of doggy skates!
well black is beautiful! blonds are ok Woof!
You are gorgeous!
If I could blush I would thank you
Olivia Newton-John’s nephew is a writer here in Melbourne and he entered a selection from a family memoir into a competition and was accepted into an anthology. I went along to the launch [they didn’t like my story, but what the heck] and he was one of the people who read his story to the gathered multitude. It was kinda sad and I spoke briefly to him after the event. Olivia is living in Melbourne at the moment……. I’ll say hi for you if I come across her, lol. Terry
You can’t joke about a thing like that! She was my childhood hero. I really did think she was an other worldly creature.
no joke she really does live here. Her status in this country is one of royality.
I think it’s about wanting what you don’t have. As a little child I had white hair that got gradually darker over time, but my hair always was and still is very straight. Oh, what I would have given to get curly hair and look like a real princes! So when I got old enough I had the hairdresser make me curls, and yay, was I pretty; right until the second renewal, when my hair got frisky. When I came home my little daughter said: Oh, mom, you look just like grandma! After that I gave up on curls and tried to do something about the color instead. Over the years I’ve been white like the ice queen, blond like a canary, red like Boomer, mahogany brown and everything in between. I never really thought a lot about all those chemicals that were used. Today I have my own natural dark blond color (with a lot of grey), and I’ve come to terms with it, both with the color and with the fact that my hair is still very straight.
I had my hair curled when I was twelve and thirteen, but it never really got curly. I discovered that I was too lazy to take care of it, and I hated the chemical smell. Oh well, but I do love Cricket’s curly hair!
Lovely post. Dogs find their way into your heart regardless of what you originally had in mind. We were actually thinking of getting a German Shepherd when we got Maggie (black and white collie x springer). Wouldn’t be without her now.
I think Cricket was hoping we’d come home with another stuffed squeaky toy for her. A living squeaky toy is sort of close.
Great story.
Thank you!
You are welcome.
Our dog Pepper looks a little like a badger with her colouring, so she gets self esteem issues when our Korean neighbours describe her as looking like a homeless dog that needs a wash! We tell her not to listen!
Dogs really understand what’s being said about them, if only by the tone of voice, and they know when they are loved.
Interesting association of blondeness with dogs. Hmm. My son chose a black cat from the shelter because he heard that black cats have a much more difficult time getting adopted. What about gray dogs?
I would love to have an Irish Wolfhound, but I don’t think she’d be able to get through the front door of my apartment.
Haven’t heard ‘Ginny Doll’ in decades, and she was my all-time favorite doll!
You remember her?!!!! Everyone else my age had barbie dolls, or skipper. But I loved Ginny.
Nice story!
Thank you!
I have to say I grew up with a Tri-color dog, a black dog, and now I myself own a black and Tan and a Black and White. Maybe I’m predisposed to liking black dogs, but I couldn’t turn down a face like Cricket or Butterfly.
My girls are clearly handicapped by their blondness, but they make the best of it.
My first dog, Buffy, was a blonde (apricot blonde) and when she passed away (saddest day of my life so far), I never thought of getting another dog that was not blonde. My two dogs now are not blonde and I couldn’t love them more. I love this story; so heartwarming and real. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much! I can never think of the name Buffy without thinking “Vampire Slayer” too.
Chienne and the Man are both Blondes as was Misty, my fondly remembered Westie. I have had different coloured dogs in the past but at the moment it’s Blonde. They do say Blondes have more fun – not too sure if the Man would agree though. Excellent post – enjoyed it all.
My blondies have a lot of fun, but I think it’s more about their size. Dina could never run through an apartment or jump in a room with a ceiling in it.
Love this post, Rachel! It’s really smooth how you take the reader through the “blondness” and then ever so gently turn the story toward your two adorable dogs — so well done! I know I sound like I’m a member of a writing group, but really, as writer-to-writer I think you’ve written something really fine here . . . and I love hearing about your dogs and what joy they bring to you — which reminds me of how our dogs and cats do the same thing. 🙂
Thank you! The girls sit over my shoulder and make sure everything I write meets with their approval. Cricket likes to push my notebook away with her paws, in case I was at a loss for inspiration.
🙂 Your muses!
wonderful story, I am a dog lover myself and I know how it feels to love your dogs without any limit or reason
Thank you!
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love it, especially since I’m blond and Izzy is black-and-white (sort of the opposite of your story!)
I wonder if my girls know that I’m not blond, and not even a dog!
Bailey is my first blondie, as well. And can you imagine our dogs on skates?? Bahaha!
We just need some light sticks and boogie music and Butterfly would be having a great time!
Oh I just pictured that and laughed out loud!!
Your pups are so beautiful!
Happy is my first blond dog and my first tiny dog. He’s a really special guy – Butterfly’s smile reminds me of Happy 🙂
Happy is a great name for a Butterfly-like dog!
I thought Butterfly was a great name for your guy ☺
Tweeted 🙂
Yay!!!!!
I’ve just realised I too have a blonde dog! Usually he is James now he is blonde too. Think that deserves an extra biscuit. I was once brunette yet with age am turning to silver. Seems we all get our blonde moment. Love your blog and am pleased that you pop by mine. All the best, Moke xx
Thank you! Cricket’s thinking of changing her hair color now that I’ve been talking about it so much. What do you think? Platinum? Purple? We’ll have to think about it some more.
Hi Rachel. A lovely easy and fun to read post. A reminder of the special relationship children have with toys and animals. (And thank you for the visit!)
Take care
Brian
Thanks for the return visit!
Hi! Tweeted this charming post again 🙂
Thank you so much!
Wonderful post that brought back a lot of memories, thank you Rachel-
-I was the dark-haired child in a family of blondes-I had a Ginny doll too but she had the darker hair-I never thought much about it, until I read this and realized that my sisters had blonde dolls–and my dogs have almost all been either black, brown or tri-colors-no blondes ever-
Thank you! I think my only dark haired doll was one I bought for myself with my leaf raking money: a Koosa, the animal friend of the cabbage patch dolls. I don’t know how long those were around, but mine was very cute.
Wow, I see that you liked my current post. I came over and read your article here and found it quite engaging, and I can surely relate to that “mean” feeling against some of my dolls growing up where I’d chop their hair off, draw on them with markers, etc., now I don’t feel like such a degenerate…lol. Your dogs are all extremely adorable and I’m so glad you began rescuing them from shelters and such, not buying from breeders. Thanks so much for reading my stuff…since you’re a real writer, it’s quite an honor 🙂
Thanks for the return visit!
Lovely post it was quite a wow for me.
Enjoyed that Blond moment and story behind it all. x
Thank you!
I’ve just tweeted this for you 🙂
Thank you!!!!!!
And again 🙂
Sounds like your brother is the root of a lot of your problems. What is he like today?
Pretty much the same. But he has his own kids to focus on now, so I’m off the hook.
I wonder how many regrets he has for the way he treated you as a child?
I had blonde and brunette dolls as a child, but my favorite color is green. Where are all the green-haired dolls when you need one? 🙂
They used to have these green haired trolls that kids would put on their pencils. I remember them so vividly, the acid green waving back and forth during a test was oddly comforting.
Actually, I had one of those. 🙂
I have just tweeted it for you 🙂
Thank you!
Very well written; so many messages within,that one could take out and look at, within any time or space. ❤
Thank you!
I have just now tweeted it. 🙂
Thank you!
Hi. Rachel, same na,e as my nephew’s partne, by the way. Thanks for reading my blog, Pets……. Etc. enjoyed reading about your dogs and your past. Nice to get to know people. I write fuction too, pArt from my blogs, that is. Where do you live in this big old world?
Evelyn
Hi! Thanks for the return visit. I live on long Island, though the closest I get to the water is the duck pond near my house.
The beauty is? They don’t know they’re blonde and love you unconditionally! God bless lil’ dogs😉
But I’m pretty sure they know they’re cute, because they work it.
Rachel, long story given my particular history, but I was once given a doll that came with a beauty salon chair and fake plastic scissors and a brush, and she had long blond hair as well. I, too, cut off her hair, leaving it with choppy nubs.
I was born with black hair courtesy of my Italian father, but it turned brown thanks to my blond mother. Always wished I’d retained that black, soft mop of hair.
My dogs over the years have had hair of every color, but the one consistency has been that they’ve all had hearts of gold.
Funny thing — I loved my G.I. Joe as a child and don’t know what became of him. As an adult, I treated myself to buying a replacement, but I removed his military gear and dressed him in a lavender leisure suit and posed him in a position of meditation on my bookshelf!
I love the idea of a lavender leisure suit for GI Joe, somehow it fits him. I think that’s really who he was, underneath it all.