Pink Ponies

Today's post comes to us courtesy of "Kev's" 5th grade teacher, Mr. D... Before I turn the "Corner" over to Mr. D., let me tell you...

Back in 1979, "Kev" was a student at a suburban grade school outside of Chicago where Mr. D. STILL teaches. Mr. D. was one of "Kev's" favorite teachers, and all these years later, I will confess to cyber space that it was because he was very CUTE and always wore very nice sweaters (my mother even thought so). I remember the robust smell of coffee on Mr. D.'s breath and I LOVED it. I attribute my current Starbuck's addiction to him. (Just to clarify, we did not have a Mary Kay Letourneau/Vili Fualaau relationship...) I wasn't the brightest or cutest kid in his class (remember, I was competing with Bryan E., whom you all saw pictures of previously) but I felt a connection to Mr. D. and wanted him to like me. After 27 years, I am happy to say that Mr. D. and I still stay in touch.

Without further delay, please welcome my friend and former educator, Mr. D...

Saturdays…..ahhhh! I tend to awaken slowly and get moving in the same manner. Move at a snail’s pace from cereal to the newspaper to coffee to online connections to the shower. This Saturday brought me a jolt of energy. Today, I thought, I should jump the subway and go downtown to the Loop and take care of several errands. And so I did.

It was a chilly morning and a bit drizzly. So Chicago in the fall. When I arrived downtown, people were in their normal “downtown” mode. Celebrating Starbuck’s to go. iPods. Cell phones. Shopping. Rushing. I fell right into place with them all. No iPod though. No cell either. Am I behind the times? Might that be a topic for another guest entry to Kev’s blog? I digress.

I hopped from store to store deciding happily that I was saving a lot of money because I was not purchasing things I really didn’t need. Just think, I said to myself, just think how rich I must be getting by not spending all the money that retailers want! This made me think that I just might be able to afford that tall skinny double vanilla latte I’ve been wanting for the past several weeks. Pardon me, but again, I digress.

As I left a major department store, I saw a sign advertising X Box 360. It was in stock and available for purchase now! Did that signify a coup for Christmas shoppers with children? That can only be my guess. And then I had a passing thought. Whatever happened to that pretty little pink pony that children of past generations had lusted over?



Obviously a drawing by someone older than those I teach, this little pony signifies something to children and to adults who still dream lofty things. A highlight. A pinnacle of success. A movement to a higher caste. If only those little children knew the reality of that pretty little pink pony. Beautiful to look at. Lovely to dream about. It’s pretty much an unattainable wish. Do you think that’s what Condi spends her waking moments thinking about? It gets her through the day.



Condoleeza Rice attempting to make a point to a foreign delegation of diplomats from one of the states formerly known as Russia. What she’s really dreaming about is brushing out that little pink pony’s pretty hair and tail.

Was this also Ronald Reagan’s motivation when he purchased his California ranch? A wonderful place to keep a pretty pink pony! What seems to have been at least a thousand years ago, Ronnie wanted that pretty pony as a gift for his true love, his Nancy. Surely, that would benefit his political dreams and take him to the top. He would be king of the world. Judging from this photo, he never received the crown. Rather, what he lived most of his adult life with was a woman, also not with a crown, but great helmet hair. Fashionable for the time, perhaps, but not pretty.



Modern culture has taken the pretty pink pony idea to places beyond our imaginations. What began as a cute little toy to be cared for as if it were real, the concept has grown to include foods, places, and even clothing. This is where the entrepreneur in me kicks in. I’d like to make it a one-stop-shopping thing. Go out for an afternoon of live entertainment while either wearing or shopping for the latest pretty pink pony fashion trends, and finishing up with a mid-afternoon sugar hit. Hot. Very hot. Is this how the dream of that little pink pony has taken shape? Is it still making little children envious of others who own one when they, in fact, do not? Not pretty.



But the reality of that little pink pony is what it is to children. It’s pretty. It creates a world of marvelous make-believe. Taking care of an inanimate object as if it were your own child. X Box 360 doesn’t hold a candle to that. It never will. In fact, it takes kids away from wishing for things that are good, and away from ideas that are somewhere beyond reach. Beyond Dorothy’s rainbow. But that pink pony is pretty. And always will be pretty. That prettiness is a major reason that “Kev” has always wanted one, lusted over one. “If only I could have one of those pretty little pink ponies. I’d care for it. I really would!” he would say to his mom. Alas, he never got his pony. He chose to become one instead. Pretty is as pretty does....