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City council member cites Urban Dictionary in an official statement criticizing BLM

City council member cites Urban Dictionary in an official statement criticizing BLM
Photo by Gabe Pierce on Unsplash

Oh, Selah. It's been a long time, but it's clear that not much has changed.

My husband grew up in Selah, a rural town of 8,000 people scattered outside of Yakima, Washington. There was one black kid in his entire high school, who ended up leaving because they were so ostracized by the other kids. My husband was once called "white n-word" for standing up for a Mexican kid whose family were migrant workers in town. That was more than 20 years ago, but it's helpful background for this story to make sense.

There are people with diverse viewpoints even in the smallest of towns, of course, and Selah is no exception. According to the Yakima-Herald, a Black Lives Matter rally took place in the town over the weekend, attended by more than 150 people.

One attendee was a Yakima city council member, who encountered Selah city administrator, Don Wayan, at the rally. Wayman apparently made a comment equating BLM with communism, and allegedly implied that there would be no trouble at the rally because of the high percentage of Selah citizens having concealed carry permits. Reports of his statements prompted letters to the city and an official statement that Selah city council member Kevin Wickenhagen felt compelled to write in response.

You can read the whole statement here, and it's...well, it's a doozy. But I've pulled some highlights to address. (Please note, I'm copying the passages exactly as they are written, so any grammatical errors—because there are some—are not my mistyping.)

After thanking people for expressing themselves to the city, Wickenhagen wrote that he had "done some research" on Black Lives Matter, then wrote:

"It is my belief that some people participating in the march and supporting the march are without an understanding of the underlying principles of the Black Lives Matter movement."

Well that's not condescending or anything. What, pray tell, does he think people think they're supporting? We'll get to that momentarily.

"First, though, I'd like to address the accusation that Mr. Wayman was intending to intimidate the BLM protestors by mentioning many people in Selah have carry conceal permits. Everyone needs to understand, the rumors of violent outbreaks in rural areas and suburbs were quite prevalent leading up to the march. One doesn't have to look very far West to see what happens when people with unhealthy motives use a peaceful march as camouflage to instigate violence and vandalism. Selah police and Mr. Wayman would have been remis in their duty to protect the citizens and businesses had they not prepared for such a possibility."

Umm, I hate to break it to you, but the ANTIFA boogeymen that alt-right social feeds were foaming at the mouth about were never, ever, ever going to show up in "rural areas and suburbs," and especially not in Selah. Anyone in Selah who thought that was actually a possibility needs to get out of Selah more often. Good gracious.

And we're not even to the good part yet. Here we go:

"Regarding Mr. Wayman's statement about BLM being based on Neo-Marxism. Frankly, I had to do some research on Neo-Marxism. Explaining Neo-Marxism isn't an easy philosophy to explain, but I found this online in the Urban Dictionary when comparing Marxism to neo-Marxism. "Instead of the dichotomy being between wealthy and poor (ie Marxism), it is between successful and unsuccessful demographics. Neo-Marxists divide all demographics (white, black, asian, male, female, gay, straight, etc) and place them in a hierarchy of oppression as determined by how successful that demographic is." Using that statement as a basis, and reviewing BLM's own website, BLM policies fall well into Neo-Marxist philosophy. Whether or not being called a neo-Marxist is seen as a negative would all depend on your point of view."

Hoo boy. Urban Dictionary?! Really??

For those who are uninitiated, Urban Dictionary is a crowdsourced site for slang definitions, a large percentage of which are joke definitions. Seriously. Anyone can post a definition there. I could go on Urban Dictionary right now, type in "Selah" and write "hick town that wouldn't recognize a Marxist if Karl Marx himself slapped it in the face" and it would be put in as an entry.

I mean, look:

I just Googled "Neo-Marxism" and had to jump over several perfectly legitimate pages like Encyclopedia Britannica, Science Direct, and the Oxford dictionary before I got to the Urban Dictionary entry (and if you know anything about Neo-Marxist philosophy, it's easy to see that the Urban Dictionary definition is purposefully inflammatory).

And I'm not even getting into what else Urban Dictionary is commonly used for. Citing Urban Dictionary in an official statement is laughable and embarrassing, but unfortunately not surprising, all things considered.

"As to Mr. Wayman's opinion of the march sounding like Communist Indoctrination. BLM has a plan they call 'A Vision for Black Lives: Policy Demands for Black Power, Freedom and Justice,'. In that plan there are 6 core demands. The 4th core demand is, and I quote, 'Economic justice for all and a reconstruction of the economy to ensure our communities have collective ownership, not merely access.' That is a basic principle of communism. And again, if that is a negative or positive would all depend on your point of view."

Wait, is this 2020 or 1920? Did we just skip back a hundred years to the first Red Scare? Are we really still doing the whole "commies" thing? Do you really not understand why the Black community might want "collective ownership, not merely access" in our country's economy (which has been owned/run/dominated by wealthy white people for, like, ever—most of the time at the direct expense of Black people)?

Okay, one more paragraph to highlight:

"I have endeavored to pattern my view on race based on the words of Martin Luther King Jr. who dreamed his children wouldn't be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. But that attitude no longer seems to fit in with current political climate. We are told we must end racism, but the very group that calls for it, calls special attention to it. We are told we must see everyone the same, but 'all lives matter' is insensitive. The same groups that calls for the end of racism request special resources for minority programs. It is a time where stating you're not racist is immediately called into question and no amount of evidence seems to change minds, based on you're the race of the person saying it."

Aw, come on. It's like a full Bingo card of white, willful mischaracterization of race issues. Selective MLK quote? Check. Believing that talking about racism perpetuates racism? Check. All Lives Matter? Check. Affirmative Action is racist? Check. Grammatically jumbled "I'm not racist" complaint? Check.

Selah, I know you have some progressive-minded people there. But if this is what your leadership is saying in official public statements, you haven't come as far as I would have hoped since my husband's childhood.

And while it's easy to laugh at the ridiculousness of citing the Urban Dictionary, the Marxist/communist fearmongering, and the long-outdated double spaces between sentences, there are towns with leadership like this all over the U.S. That's frankly a little terrifying.

The world is moving on, folks. Even in small towns. Time to catch up.

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A man discovered a letter his wife hid from him for 56 years. It held a life-changing secret.

"Tony, please don't be angry or surprised to hear this..."

old letter, 1959, tony trapani, letter, secret letters, love letter, love stories, dads, fatherhood, father and son, parents, parenting
via SHVETS production/Pexels and Suzy Hazelwood/Pexels
Tony Trapani discovers a letter his wife hid from him since 1959.

Writing a letter is truly a lost art form, and many young people will never know the joy of it. You had to choose your words carefully and say everything you wanted to say. Once you sent it off, there was no way to be sure it was delivered. No way to know if it had been opened or read. You couldn't take it back or send it again. You just put it in the mailbox and hoped for the best. It was excruciating and magical all at the same time.

One story of a letter never delivered has captured the hearts of readers everywhere. A heart-warming local news story gone viral for the best reasons.

Tony Trapani and his wife were married for 50 years despite the heartache of being unable to have children. "She wanted children,” Trapani told Fox 17. "She couldn't have any. She tried and tried." Even though they endured the pain of infertility, Tony's love for his wife never wavered and he cherished every moment they spent together.

letter, secret letters, love letter, love stories, dads, fatherhood, father and son, parents, parenting Tony Trapani received the most important letter of his life, but he didn't see it for 50 years Photo by Álvaro Serrano on Unsplash

After his wife passed away when Tony was 81 years old, he undertook the heartbreaking task of sorting out all of her belongings. In particular was a mountain of papers stuffed into filing cabinets. Trapani diligently went through every single one.

That’s when he stumbled upon a carefully concealed letter in a filing cabinet hidden for over half a century.

The letter was addressed to Tony and dated March 1959, but this was the first time he had seen it. His wife must have opened it, read it and hid it from him. The letter came from Shirley Childress, a woman Tony had once been close with before his marriage. She reached out, reminiscing about their past and revealing a secret that would change Tony's world forever.

"Dear Tony, I bet you are surprised to hear from me after so many years. I was just thinking about you tonight like so many other nights. But I thought I would write you and find out how you are," the letter reads. "Tony, please don't be angry or surprised to hear this. I have a little boy. He is five-years- old now - grey eyes and beautiful black hair. What I am trying to say Tony is he is your son."



"Please, Tony if you can find it in your heart to forgive me, please come and see him," Shirley wrote in the letter. "Every day he asks me where is his daddy and believe me Tony I can't even answer him anymore. I would be forever grateful to you if you would just see him. ... I'll close now hoping and praying you will answer. P.S. His name is Samuel Duane."

Now, Tony faced the fact that he had a son that would be around 60 years old and he set out to find him.

For over a year, Trapani’s sister tried to track down the mysterious Samuel Duane Childress, until she finally contacted his wife, Donna.

Tony and Samuel met in January 2015 and he felt like a new dad. After meeting his father, Samuel said his mother told him she sent the letter, but Tony never responded. "Why my wife didn't tell me," said Trapani, "I don't know. She wanted children. She couldn't have any. She tried and tried."

It's easy to understand why it may have been hard for Trapani's late wife, Dolly, to pass along that sort of news. Though we'll never know what exactly must have been in her heart and mind when she hid the letter all those years ago.

"I always asked my mom, I said, 'Well what does he look like?'' Samuel said. "She said, 'Well, go look in the mirror."

The two met and caught up on a lifetime of memories with the understanding that they could never change the past. "Just to know him now is so important to me. It's going to fill that void," Samuel said.

But just to be sure, Tony took a paternity test to ensure they were father and son. Stunning everyone involved, the test came back negative. Tony was not the father.


letter, secret letters, love letter, love stories, dads, fatherhood, father and son, parents, parenting Tony and Samuel didn't waste time thinking about what might have been if he'd seen the letter earlier. Photo by Ire Photocreative on Unsplash

The news upset Tony and Samuel, but they still had a unique bond. They shared a relationship with Samuel’s mother and both have been on an incredibly wild ride after Tony found the mysterious letter.

“They're keeping that bond,” Donna said. “That paper doesn't mean anything to him. That bond has been made—and we're going to move on from here.”

Tony Trapani passed away in 2017, leaving him just two short years to connect with the man he once believed to be his son. If he'd seen the letter earlier, maybe they would have had more time. But that's all in the past, and by all accounts the men treasured the time they got together, and the relationship that they did have — not the one they wished for.

This article originally appeared earlier this year. It has been updated.

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Uber driver with Tourette's goes viral sharing her unforgettable interactions with riders

"Honesty, humor, and human connection can change the way the world sees Tourette’s."

uber driver, passenger, ride share, tourette syndrome
Canva Photos.

A woman drives an Uber. A passenger gets in.

Not all heroes wear capes, but some do drive Uber. Jeanna DiVietro is one such hero who has a big laugh, infectious positivity, and the ability to be so vulnerable that she puts many of her passengers at ease. In fact, some seem to become "unexpected friends" in just five minutes flat.

The thing is, DiVietro has Tourette Syndrome, which presents in tics, both physical and vocal. Rather than letting that be a barrier for her, she uses it as a way to educate others. With the rider's permission, of course, she films the interactions and shares them on social media to reach a larger audience.

And she's simply delightful while doing it. In many videos, she has at least one passenger sitting in the front seat and explains to them that she has Tourette Syndrome. In one clip, there's a woman up front when one of DiVietro's tics causes her to scream. They both wind up laughing, with the passenger exclaiming, "This is the best Uber ride ever!" Our driver responds, "Oh yay, I'm so excited!" This is followed by the yelling of "Wh--e!" and again they both laugh. "You're not a wh--e," she assures the rider, who jokingly quips back, "I might be!"

Here's where DiVietro begins to educate. She shares, "I've always had a great attitude with Tourette Syndrome. I just want to help other people have a good attitude too. So that way they can accomplish things that they never thought they were ever able to accomplish. Look at me, I'm an Uber driver, traveling nationwide. I'm also a photographer." She then screams, "Click click b---h!" to which our understanding passenger laughs, "Did you get the picture? Was it my good side?"

The comments are completely understanding and supportive. This clip alone has nearly half a million likes and thousands of comments. One person suggests, "She needs a full-on SERIES!"

Another admits, " This is an Uber ride I would love! My husband says I'm not supposed to laugh, it's rude. Is it considered rude? Because this is hilarious." DiVietro puts her at ease, writing, "No it's not rude, because I too am laughing!"

One person even asks, "Wait are you the lady who picked up a passenger who also had Tourette's? That was the best video!" DiVietro answers, "Yes I am and thank you!"

It turns out the clip in question involved a man in Evansville whom she notes did not, in fact, have the disorder but was "playing along." But, she shares, she "was not offended one bit." They seemed to have an ultimate blast.

Another heartwarming clip shows DiVietro, having presumably explained that she has Tourette Syndrome to a young man, laughing uproariously when he mishears "Tourette's" it as "T-Rex." "I need to Google 'how do I help T-Rex?'" She then explains the correct word, which leads them to finding their inner dinosaurs and roaring a few times.

The passenger tells her that he's a rapper (CEO DEE) and she's incredibly supportive, immediately asking where she can listen to his music. Once again, the comment section doesn't disappoint. They link to his Instagram and share it with DiVietro.

Others in the comments focus on the dinosaur of it all. "This is so funny. The dinosaur impersonation took me out." Another notes that is seems to be a lovely plutonic connection "What do you get when you put a guy with the munchies and a female "t-rex" in the same car? A beautiful friendship."

Currently, there's a fan-funded documentary in the making. According to DiVietro's website, it will document her life in and out of Uber across the South and the Midwest. "This isn’t just a road trip. It’s a movement to show that honesty, humor, and human connection can change the way the world sees Tourette’s."

As exemplified by DiVietro's vocal tics, Tourette's is one type of tic disorder. According to their informational website Tourette.org, it's "a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects children, adolescents and adults. The condition is characterized by sudden, involuntary movements and/or sounds called tics. Tics can range from mild/inconsequential to moderate and severe, and are disabling in some cases."

Tourette Syndrome is explained. www.youtube.com, Tourette Association of America

DiVietro doesn't let this disorder define her. On the contrary, she uses it to sparkle and clearly make beautiful connections. The hope is that she is able to inspire others to do the same.

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Gen Z manager shares the time-off requests she's rejected, and people are here for it

This is a refreshing approach to leadership.

time off requests, pto, sick leave, gen z manager, manager positions, asking for time off
@bunchesofbeggs/TikTok

This Manager thinks PTO is for vacation, not "life changing events."

What does it take to be a good boss? You can answer this a million different ways—by being a clear communicator, earning employee trust, providing constructive feedback, and fostering a positive and supportive work environment while also being open to feedback and recognizing your team's contributions—but really, it all seems to stem from respecting your employees as fellow human beings.

Part of that means acknowledging that these employees have lives that are, frankly, more important to them than the job, and not penalizing them for it. One manager, and Gen Zer no less, seems to fully understand this basic principle, and folks are applauding her for it.

Elizabeth Beggs, who manages a five-person team for a packaging distribution company in Virginia, recently made a TikTok sharing which time-off requests she “rejects. ”You’ll see why “rejects” is in quotes shortly.

One example: when a female rep notified Beggs that she was likely having a miscarriage. After the team member asked how she can file for time off to see to the issue, Beggs immediately responded, “Girl, go to the doctor! We’re not submitting time off for that!”

In Beggs’ mind, PTO is for “vacation,” not medical emergencies. What a concept.

@bunchesofbeggs

Edited to clarify- 1. My team is all salary. 2. These examples are not all recent or from my current position. 3. My team works hard and hits thier KPIs above and beyond. Time off is meant to recharge and be used how you need it, not to handle life changing events #mangers #corporate #genzmanagers #sales #vetstocorporate #veterans

Beggs went on to explain a couple more situations, like when one employee—a parent—was “up all night” with their sick kid. And her last one wasn’t even negative—she had an employee who wanted to work a half-day to do something nice for their anniversary.

“Seriously, if any of these triggered anyone, then you need to evaluate how you run your team as a manager,” she concluded.

By and large, the response to Beggs’ management style has been overwhelmingly positive, and people seem to find it completely refreshing.

“You are not a manager, you’re a LEADER,” one person wrote.

@bunchesofbeggs

Everything you do should be to better your team, not to make your life easier #leadership #ownership #corporatelife #veteran #military

Another said, “The better you treat your employees, the more loyal they will be and the better work they will put out. Most people do not understand how management works.”

A few noted how this attitude seems to be more present among younger leaders. One person commented, "millennial manager here. My team members are human first, employees second. Like just go do what you want but get the work done too.”

Another joked that “Boomer managers could NEVER.”

Beggs would later clarify this doesn’t mean she doesn't have clear productivity expectations for her team (who work on salary). Perhaps if she had a team member not making their KPIs (key performance indicators), there would be an additional conversation surrounding time off, but there is still an inherent respect as a fellow human being. Which, to her, means treating bona fide time off as a way to “recharge and be used how you need it, not to handle life changing events.”

@bunchesofbeggs

If you’re planning does not account for people being human- it’s bad planning #genzleaders #armyvet #militaryvet #genz #corporatelife #corporate #manager #timeoff

Younger generations might get labeled “lazy” or “entitled,” but they are also the ones fighting to change the status quo so that we all may be treated less like cogs in the machine, and more like actual human beings. Its leaders like Beggs who show that operating in new ways doesn't compromise productivity—it, in fact, enhances it. We might not be able to change the global standard overnight, but we certainly aren’t going to get to a better place without leaders who choose to serve their community rather than a bottom line.

This article originally appeared in March.

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Neil deGrasse Tyson explains why time accelerates as we get older and how to slow it down

Can we trick our minds into slowing down time?

time, neil degrasse tyson, time flies, perception of time. clock, science,
via Karl Withakay/Wikimedia Commons and Canva/Photos

A clock and Neil deGrasse Tyson.

When you’re a kid, time passes a lot more slowly than when you’re an adult. At the age of seven, summer seems to go on forever, and the wait from New Year’s Day to Christmas feels like a decade. As an adult, time seems to go faster and faster until one weekend you’re putting up your Christmas lights though you swear you just took ‘em down a month ago.

Why does time seem to speed up as we get older? Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson recently explained the phenomenon in a video posted to Instagram. He also offered tips on how to slow the passage of time as you age. DeGrasse Tyson is one of the most popular science communicators in the world and the host of 2014's Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey and 2020’s Cosmos: Possible Worlds.

Why does time appear to speed up as we get older?


“When you're young, everything is new. Your brain is constantly recording fresh memories, and the more memory your brain stores, the longer the experience feels. But then something changes. As you get older, routines take over. Your brain stops saving so much detail. It switches to autopilot because everything feels familiar and predictable,” deGrasse Tyson explains. “And when your brain stores fewer new memories, your perception of time compresses. That's why childhood feels long, and adulthood feels like a blur.”


Steve Taylor, PhD, author of many best-selling books including Time Expansion Experience, The Leap, and Spiritual ScienceThe Leap, and Spiritual Science, agrees with deGrasse Tyson.

“This is mainly because, as children, we have so many new experiences, and so process a massive amount of perceptual information,” Taylor writes at Psychology Today. “Children also have an unfiltered and intense perception of the world, which makes their surroundings appear more vivid. However, as we get older, we have progressively fewer new experiences. Equally importantly, our perception of the world becomes more automatic. We grow progressively desensitized to our surroundings. As a result, we gradually absorb less information, which means time passes more quickly. Time is less stretched with information.”

How do we make time slow down?

There’s something a little depressing about the idea that time speeds up as we age because we have fallen into predictable routines. The good news is that we can break this cycle by changing our habits and having new experiences. The more novel information we can process and the less routine our lives become, the slower time will move.

DeGrasse Tyson believes that with some change in our behaviors, we can get back to longer summers and Christmases that aren’t perpetually around the corner.

“You can actually slow time down again. Do something unfamiliar,” deGrasse Tysons says. "Travel somewhere new. Break a routine you've repeated for years. Learn a skill your brain hasn't mapped yet. Because the more new memories your brain forms, the slower time feels as it passes. So if life feels like it's accelerating, it's not your age. It's your brain, and you can reboot it.”

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Grown-ups share 11 nostalgic Christmas presents they always wanted (and sometimes never got)

Who remembers Easy-Bake Oven mania?

christmas, holidays, christmas gifts, nostalgia, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, tickle me elmo, easy bake oven, chatty cathy
Kevin Labianco/Flickr, Rochelle Lockridge/Flickr, Bradross63/Wikimedia Commons

Adults share the nostalgic "must-have" Christmas gifts from their youths.

Christmas as a kid was the absolute best: crafting your wish list with care; the anticipation as presents began to appear under the tree; the lights, the cookies. It was pure magic. Though the holidays are still special in their own way once you're grown, most of us would love a chance to feel like a little kid again on Christmas morning.

One small way adults are recapturing that nostalgia is by remembering the most in-demand, highly anticipated toys and games from their childhood—the ones every kid wanted for Christmas. The ones that had Mom and Dad standing outside Toys R Us at 5 a.m. The ones that prompted panicked reports on the evening news about toy shortages and checkout line mayhem.

Here are 11 of the hottest toys of all time that topped Christmas lists in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and even early 2000s.

1. Baby All Gone

This doll, released in 1991, was pure witchcraft for kids who saw the commercials on TV. You could make it drink milk or eat cherries which would then just...disappear.

"It is sweet how a simple toy like Baby All Gone can bring back warm memories, because those disappearing milk and cherries remind us of a time when childhood felt magical and full of small joys," one user wrote on X.

"I never understood where the cherries went. Did they go in the mouth or the spoon? Perplexed," added another.

All we know is that we wanted it.

2. Easy-Bake Oven

In 1963, the toy company Kenner changed the game when they released the Easy-Bake Oven and allowed kids to cook their own brownies and cakes with a small lightbulb. The original design came in turquoise and yellow, and sold out during its first holiday season. The demand was so high that the company tripled production for the next year.

Simply put, everyone wanted one.

"I remember the way the pastries tasted. Even to this day. And how disappointed I became when it took so long to bake. But the smell....I'm pretty sure I still remember how it smells," one user wrote on Reddit.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

3. Tickle Me Elmo

Perhaps the wildest Christmas toy craze of all time, Tickle Me Elmo was actually released in the summer of 1996. It didn't became a phenomenon until shortly after Thanksgiving, when a feature on Rosie O'Donnell and news reports of low stock prompted panicked parents to risk life and limb to get their hands on one.

By the end of Christmas that year, and after many injuries and in-store brawls, Tyco had sold over a million Tickle Me Elmos.

"That year only one kid in my class got one and they brought it to school to show everyone. Apparently they were extremely hard to find and their parents waited outside a store before they opened just to get one," a user wrote on Reddit.

christmas, holidays, christmas gifts, nostalgia, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, tickle me elmo, easy bake oven, chatty cathy Tickle Me Elmo changed Christmas as we know it in the 90s.Kevin Labianco/Flickr

4. Chatty Cathy

Long before Tickle Me Elmo hit the scene, and way before the term "Chatty Cathy" was used to refer to someone who couldn't stop talking, kids in the '50s and '60s were falling all over themselves to get a hold of this talking doll. Chatty Cathy was the original pull-string doll, coming pre-programmed with seven different talking phrases. This was big news at the time.

One Reddit user reports never giving up on her dream of owning a Chatty Cathy, and finally finding one at an antique mall many years later:

from Dolls


5. A rock tumbler

Rock tumblers, which could magically transform rocks you found in your backyard into shiny gems or egg-smooth pearls, became hugely popular in the 1960s. They were a staple of every toy catalog for decades, but parents were often wary because they could be expensive and loud (especially in the early days). A kid could dream, though.

"I never did get that dang rock tumbler. I circled it so many times in the JCPenney Christmas catalog (it was the 80s), that I remember the paper nearly being torn through," a Redditor wrote.

6. Barbie Dreamhouse / Malibu Barbie Beach House

Barbie was released in the late 1950s, but the craze really went to the next level in 1962 when the first Barbie Dreamhouse came out. The Museum of Arts and Design writes that Barbie's pad was different from anything else on the market at that time:

"While other dollhouses of the time featured baby rooms and kitchens, Barbie’s house was in a league of its own. It looked like a modern studio apartment in NYC—complete with sleek modernist furniture, a TV console, a record player, and even a bookshelf stocked with fiction and Encyclopedia Britannica, showcasing Barbie’s love for learning! Barbie’s walls proudly displayed college pennants, proving she was educated and ambitious. She even had a fabulous dressing area and closet—because we know Barbie is all about fashion."

It wasn't until decades later that Barbie decided to move to the beach in Malibu, getting a whole new playset as a result. One Redditor writes that the Beach House was their dream house, but sadly, it was not meant to be:

"[I always wanted] a Malibu Barbie Beach House. We were a military family and it wouldn't have made all the moves"

- YouTube www.youtube.com

7. Moon Shoes

There's not much to say about Moon Shoes. If you came of age at a time where you saw the commercial on TV, you know all you need to know about them. "Kid-powered anti-gravity" shoes? Sold! What kid wouldn't be obsessed?

Most of us were not lucky enough to get our hands on a pair of Moon Shoes, sadly. Whether it was the price tag or the high likelihood of injury, a lot of parents had to say No.

"Moon shoes. [Dang] did I want some moon shoes. Growing up we were really tight in money. Only necessary items with a few wants if we could afford it," one user writes.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

8. Power Wheels

Power Wheels are the ultimate "everyone wanted it, nobody got it," Christmas present. If you grew up in the '80s or '90s, you knew precisely one kid who had one, and they were the envy of everyone at school.

Released in 1984, the early models cost between $129 and $150 to start. That would be a whopping $375 in today's money—definitely steep for most families. But all '80s and '90s kids dreamed of cruising down the street in their very own mini Jeep.

from The1980s


9. Furbies

One of the few toy crazes that lived up to the Tickle Me Elmo madness of 1996, Furbies took the world by storm in 1998.

Where Tickle Me Elmo seemed to be mostly driven by news and product scarcity, a lot of kids really, genuinely wanted a Furbie—they could talk to you, after all, gradually transitioning from speaking their own gibberish language to speaking English. They could even communicate with each other.

There were even rumors that China and other countries were using Furbies to spy on Americans, and the NSA actually banned Furbies from its properties. Sadly, those stories kept a lot of eager kids from realizing their holiday dreams:

"I wanted one but I wasn't allowed one, my Mom believed the 'OMG DEY R SPYING DEVICES!!!!' stories that the news was pushing at the time," wrote on Redditor.

- YouTube www.youtube.com


10. Joe Namath Electric Football Game

Before there was Playstation and Xbox and John Madden football, there was Joe Namath. The vibrating, magnetic foosball-like game may not look like much by today's standards, but kids in the '60s got hours and hours of joy out of it.

"OK, old timer here," one Redditor wrote. "The must get present was the old 'electronic' football game where the big metal field vibrated the little players chaotically around the field."

"My parents bought one of these for me for Christmas in the early 70s. I was in 2nd grade at the time. By the time I hit junior high school, my friends and I played this all the time," a YouTube commenter added.


- YouTube www.youtube.com

11. Hi Heidi doll

Another hit from the '60s, Heidi's selling point was that she could wave and came in her own little pocketbook. Ah, simpler times!

One Redditor shares a harrowing story behind never getting her own Hi Heidi in the '60s:

"I wanted one soooo bad. My dad's company had a Christmas party when I was a kid, and they had a show in an auditorium with a glass display case. At the end of the show, they called up the kids in the order of their dads' importance (president, vp, management, workers) and we got to choose a gift from the case. When it was my turn, the only Hi Heidi dolls that were left were black ones, and they wouldn't let me, a little blonde girl, have one. I was so upset, and ended up with a hula hoop, instead. Never did get a Hi Heidi."

- YouTube www.youtube.com

We've barely scratched the surface of the hottest "must-have" Christmas gifts in history. Adults all over social media continue to go gaga over erector sets, tether race cars, Polly Pocket, Tamogatchi, Teddy Ruxpin, and more.

It's amazing how the commercials, catalog spreads, or TV jingles for these toys can take you right back to Christmas morning. It's fun to remember a time when our biggest dreams were to play, bake, or jump high in the sky with anti-gravity boots. Celebrating with our own kids or the children in our lives is one small way we can recapture a little bit of that magic year after year.

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