Gumby & Pokey

I came across these toys one day while waiting for a table at Cracker Barrell restaurant. Just as the merchandisers intended, they took me back to childhood and I just HAD to purchase them for my desk at work. Really, I was "owed" them in a sense. Here's the story.....

When I was a young girl I wasn't terribly fond of regular plastic dolls. I preferred products like Raggedy Ann (my fav), Gumby & Pokey, and those trolls with the long hair. This is partially because, and I haven't shared this story with many people, is that a neighbor girl told me (when I was 4 or 5) that when you die they put you into a liquid that shrinks you and that's where dolls come from - shrunken deceased people. I remember putting dolls away in the closet at night because she had me thinking they could wake up. How's that for trauma! I ended up giving her a doll of mine that she really liked and that was probably the motivation for her story.

I did trust Barbie, sorta, because we all know she's not to scale with a real human body, LOL. Actually, I didn't get a Barbie for a while later and I wasn't as freaked out by then. But on to Gumby & Pokey. One Christmas while we were living in New Orleans I got G&P as a gift and was very fond of them. So fond, in fact, that when we went on a camping trip to Pensecola Florida I took them with me. I don't recall who all went on the trip but I do remember two things - the tent leaked and it rained and there was a nasty boy in our group who torchured me. He figured out I was fond of my G&P and he threw them in the campfire! Some adult helped me to fish them out but Pokey was a total loss. Gumby, being bigger, was charred but still maintained some green and shape. Unfortunetly he was soft and we set him down because he was hot and dirty, and when I picked him up his feet stuck and as I pulled it created these long, wierd, pointed feet - not that Gumby's feet aren't wierd already. Anyway, it ruined the toy for play because he couldn't stand and he made your hands dirty.

I guess my relationship with Gumy & Pokey did not achieve the natural closure a child has with her toys and perhaps that is why they still capture my attention when I see them. One time I even had a miniature set of them that I put on my Christmas tree! In doing this post I Googled G&P to ensure that I am spelling it correctly and discovered a Gumbyworld website and Gumby the movie! I am going to go check it out when I finish publishing this post. And for those of you who also have a pair of these bendables buddies, keep away from fire!