Thoughts and Writings from the furnace by Kent Weathersby

Barbie and Ken

One day many years ago, I came home from work and was pulling into the driveway when I saw our first born daughter, who was at the time 4 or 5, playing by herself on the lawn.

She had spread out a blanket over which she had scattered her dolls and their accessories. I don’t think she saw me and as I opened the car door, I heard her yell to no one in particular “Does anyone want to play Barbies with me?” I presumed that she was broadcasting an invitation to any or all of her friends in the neighborhood who might possibly hear her and come out to play. I was pretty sure that there would be no takers as the invitees were all in-doors.

I walked across the grass and, wearing an Air Force flight suit and combat boots, sat down across the blanket from her and said “I’ll be Ken.” We combed and styled hair, changed outfits numerous times according to our imaginary events and destinations, and took rides in model cars and horse drawn carriages till my wife called us in for dinner. To this day, that is one of the most treasured events of my life.

As I have often said, I have the undeserved blessing of being married to my 8th grade sweetheart. I have fond, if not precious, memories of us holding hands as we walked carelessly side-by-side to classes through high school corridors, and going for rides in my first car, a ’49 Ford two-door coupe, with no destination in mind. We did everything as a couple. It was truly a magical life.

Time has a way of clouding the memory of what that life, with its care-free innocence, was like. The mere distractions of school, homework, annoying parents, and hanging out with friends are supplanted by the demands of earning a living, resolving conflicts, disappointments, illnesses, heart-break, and calamity. That magical life of our youth too often evolves into a monotonous and unsatisfying treadmill. Where did it go? Why is it so fleeting?

Though it may seem far away, it is not lost forever and is really very near. All one need do to restore it is determine to make those in their life glad they are in it. The cast of playmates has been enriched by children and possibly grandchildren. Relinquish expectations, cast offenses into the sea of forgetfulness, and answer the call “Does anyone want to play Barbies with me?”

“I tell you the truth, unless you turn around and become like little children………”