Just the Coolest Thing Ever

Last night, Mom, Dad, and I went out to eat and then headed over to Sam's. Sam's is a place of great financial danger for me. I always, always, always spend too much money when I go there.

While I was there, I browsed through the Christmas stuff, and they had just the coolest thing ever. It was a giant Mr. Potato Head wearing a pirate outfit. He was like a cookie jar, and he's full of four other Potato Heads and all their accouterments. I swear I giggled like a five-year-old. Just seeing that giant pirate potato made my weariness slide away.

I'll tell you the truth. People were buzzing around those toys like moths drawn to a flame. Many happy children, or crazy middle-aged people like myself, are going to have those. I bet they'll all be gone by the end of the week. There's just something so non-threatening and smile-inducing about Mr. Potato Head.

I brought him home to add to my collection of kitsch toys in my office. He goes quite well with all the PEZ and the Darth Vader Potato Head I already had. I'm sure it says something not-so-flattering about me that I'm 30, and I still like Mr. Potato Head, but as I told my students: everybody collects something, and if something as simple as this makes me happy, then I think I'm pretty well off.