When I was a child, I had a fever.
All right, I won’t sing the best-known Pink Floyd song. For that matter, I won’t sing: I don’t want to risk arrest for disturbing the peace!
So…when I was a child, there was a very popular toy. It was also popular in my parents’ time. So, playing with it might have been the last time I could enjoy such a thing without thinking, “I’ve become my mother/father*”
Mr. Potato Head, I’ve recently learned, was the first toy advertised on television. It’s still in production today and, perhaps not surprisingly, featured in Toy Story.
As I remember, there were all kinds of accessories available—including a little bicycle for him to ride. I don’t recall him, however, looking so stylish
unless, perhaps, there was a fin-de-siécle edition of Monsieur Pomme de Terre for the Burgundy countryside.
*—Early in my gender affirmation process, my mother had just heard a “great new singer:” Lady Gaga.
“She is great,” I affirmed. “She’s one of my new favorites.”
A pause.
“Omigod! I’ve become my mother.” We laughed.
