Forsaken

Last summer I went to a huge flea market. Everything one can imagine piled up row after row - from old computers to clothes, lots of shoes for some reason, bicycles, all sorts of household appliances...

And toys.

So many toys in fact that it was obvious that of all the unwanted things in people's homes toys were a top item to be gotten ridden of. And what was also very noticable was that most, if not all, of the piled up poor little things were dolls and soft toys. Didn't see too many cyber toys, too many action figures, too many joy sticks.

And then more recently something else happened: Close friends of mine had a baby. What is customary here is that when there is a new baby you give it a gold coin. Now, I wanted to pin this gold coin on a toy. A nice cuddly soft toy, like a teddy bear maybe, in soft natural colors. Went out to the stores to no avail, so, I then went online to this huge shopping portal that we have here that makes amazon look piddly by comparison, went back out to look for other stores, went back online into this other huge shopping site that we have here - nada! Zip nothing zilch! When you type something like "baby toy" or "small child toy" or just plain "toy" what you get are these horrible bright neon colored plastic toys. Well, yes there are plushy toys and dolls also - with horrible stitched on eyes, completely assinine expressions, or rather with no expressions at all. All they do is stare at you with these terrifyingly vacant eyes. And - again absolutely horrible colors. Completely unnatural. Just horrible. And price has nothing to do with it, by the way. I was willing to pay top buck, these are good friends, I love them, I want the best for their lovely new baby. Obviously.

In the end what happened is that I settled for an amigurumi teddy bear that at least looked like a teddy bear, had nice natural colors. But, believe me, it took a while to find him even among the hand made amigurumi stuff where bright green and orange giraffes and froggy things seem to carry the day.

I have 4 old photographs here that my father took when I was around 6 years old. I had gone to Hamburg with my mother for a year where she had a residency with the Max Planck Institute. So, thinking that I would miss my toys, my father made little groupings of them - sort of like family portraits - and sent the shots to me to a far away city. They are hanging on my bedroom wall where I look at them every day. And these days, marvel at the difference. Soft lovely faces, warm friendly animals, expressive dolls.

And rag dolls!

My God - what has happened to rag dolls? Where are they? I will tell you where: They are scattered all over the stalls of that huge flea market that I went to last summer. Home made ones, that somebody's grandmother lovingly made, just like my grandmother made them for me as well, and there they are in those photographs that my father took. Unlike the ones languishing on dusty flea market stands now.

So, in honor of all the toys I ever had, I have now adopted a new mission in life: I am a rescuer of old toys. I want to give them a different sort of life, where they are independent of this new fangled, tasteless, soulless humanity that showers their children with "educational toys" in neon plastic colors. Shoves phones in their hands so that they can become totally brainwashed by watching horrendous animations on endless loops - again neon colored (apparenty there is a "scientific" reason for those bright colors that has to do with "cognition"). Countless other stiffling, emotionally crippling horrors. No more fairy tales. No more Grimm and Perault. All with good intentions, of course. Parents doing what they are told to do by TV pedagogues and doctors. In the name of "the science".

The crime that is being perpetrated on children's minds! No shortage of crimes against humanity these days; but in their insiduous, creeping ways, the crimes committed against children have got to be right up there. The things they did to children during Covid. That alone should be enough. But that was very obvious for anyone with eyes to see. The things that they are doing with toys is worse because it is unseen, unnoticed. And it is perpetual. Has been going on for decades now.

The old toys that children played with for millenia have been forsaken. But, I will not let them go. I have already made the first series where I have bisque faced rag dolls that are now leading their own lives in opulent locations. Some have moved to Venice, others have become country folk and some rather more daring ones have chosen to become stormy sea residents:

They don't need me. But, I need them. I am finally putting an end to a very long teaching career. I have had enough, really and truly. And some of why I have had enough has to do with the havoc caused by "educational" neon colored monstrosities, and "educational" bed time "stories" - "story", my foot! - that humanity has subjected their children to for the last 60 years or so. And, exceptions notwithstanding, the overall result is quite horrifying to behold. There really is nothing more for me to actively participate in. So, I will be a full time observer instead.

And, meanwhile, I will play with my dolls...

https://www.trivialthingies.com/portfolio/forsaken