(Written in response to a prompt about a corner in my home)
After much consideration within my home and seeking out the most interesting corner I concluded that my corners have less personality than the arches that lead to the bedroom and the kitchen.
However, an arch is an arch so I shall not invent tales about the curves within my home.
Alas, but where is there a corner to discuss?
* * * * *
I went on a bicycle ride. I have a route that I enjoy. There are no hills on the particular streets I choose that require a stand-up pedaling position or, as reality emerges, inclines that require me to walk the bike upwards. My favorite bike costs less than $100, has black fenders and just a touch of pink trim, a large comfy white seat, a wicker basket and no hand brakes. It’s a basic cruiser for my city streets.
Come with me – I will share my most recent observation and hooray, it encompasses a corner!
* * * * *
My found corner reveals unrivaled uniqueness. I am thrilled to photograph the most unusual corner in the neighborhood, as of today that is. Isolation lends itself to creativity so I anticipate a few more delightful surprises as I daily ride during our “shelter – in” mandate.
Down on the corner of Pine St and 10th is a brick retaining wall, its niches filled with dolls.
The clever little naked munchkins with assorted bright colored hair are called trolls. Do you remember the troll craze in the early 60s here in the U.S.?
Perched high atop the corner wall are two dolls sitting in a weathered log carved into a most unusual “chair” for the “King and Queen” with their belly buttons protruding.
* * * * *
I seek information about these endearing characters:
Troll dolls were originally created in 1959 by Danish fisherman and woodcutter Thomas Dam. Dam could not afford a Christmas gift for his young daughter Lila and carved the doll from his imagination. Other children in the Danish town of Gjøl saw the doll and wanted one.[5] Dam’s company Dam Things began producing the dolls in plastic under the name Good Luck Trolls.[6] It became popular in several European countries during the early 1960s, shortly before they were introduced in the United States. They became one of the United States’ biggest toy fads from the autumn of 1963 to 1965.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_doll
The vintage mid-1960s Dam doll “with Scandia green spiral eyes” is currently on e-bay selling for $35.
There was a resurgence in troll dolls in the 1990s. Russ Berrie began manufacturing them.
Russ Berrie and Company trolls are known simply to collectors as Russ trolls. According to company history, Russ Berrie made trolls for many years but they became popular in the 1990′s. That is when the company started producing many many Russ trolls. As I understand it, Russ is no longer making trolls. There was a lawsuit settlement with the Dam Company.
Interestingly, Time has a list of the All Time Best 100 Toys organized by decades and the troll doll is included in the 1950s decade along with Barbi, fake vomit and the hula hoop. Fun to reminisce! http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,2049243,00.html
Always something to learn – my troll doll knowledge just increased one thousandfold. Nope, I am not going to start collecting troll dolls. However, the clever corner I found will be hard to surpass, don’t you think?
postcards from my rv 
I like a “regular” bike too, but our community, four or five streets full, has practically dogs at every house and when anything unusual comes along every dog lets every other dog know!! But a Cruise bike as You describe would be lovely!!! I have seen a doll display similar to what You “pictured.” I think it was along a street in Hickory, NC. We don’t live too far from Hickory, but I tend to get lost when I go there (too many one-way streets and numbers just not jivin’.)
We have a big troll (8″ tall) with a red jumpsuit w/ white trim on the cuffs and a red santa hat with white trim on both ends. I took the trolls jumpsuit off (I was curious) and c for copyright and then RUSS was lightly stamped on the bottom of the right foot and CHINA on the bottom of the left. Oh well, a cheap imitation. This was one of many things that was in my Hubby’s father’s stuff. This troll has white hair and nice looking brown eyes, though. I have it sitting on my bookcase with all the other little stuffed creatures, statues, etc. I have found or was left by my mom. The company name You mentioned was interesting “Dam Things!” lol.
I am a poetry writer, too, but it is something I let come naturally (like all of a sudden I will sit down and write one short poem or several short poems.) My fav poet is Robert Frost and Hubby surprised me the other evening with a clip from youtube of Robert Frost reading my fav poem, The Road Not Taken. I was surprised and thrilled!! It was his voice with a pic of him on the screen, Very Cool! I always thought of getting together my poems and having a book made, but I am very “possessive” of them and don’t really want them out in the public for someone to “critique” or use some “goofy” way, so I keep them to myself. Selfish, maybe, but they are mine and only mine. 🙂
I came to Your blog via Brenda’s “Cozy Little House” when I saw Your name and just wondered who You were (I think You said You were new to her blog.)
I envy Your music endeavor – I thought I wanted to learn guitar or banjo, but when it came down to it, I wasn’t prepared to do “the hard work” and my ear and hearing are terrible. :0
I was not a special ed teacher, but I started sitting/caring for an elderly lady and then next thing I knew I was working at my home and then later the home of a Special Lady helping her to go through life during the day with a volunteer job at a library, Special Camp in summer, and she and I doing all kinds of things that she enjoyed and trying to guide her as we went. Needlesstosay, the challenges were many, tears, laughter, growth, and finally burn out (on my end – I doubt that young lady will ever “burn out” and I had to say goodbye, then Hubby and I moved from Va. to NC to help his mom until she died in 2017.
Life is always full, and I have been working this morn in the flowerbed motherinlaw had started and then, I extended it while she was alive. And I found this spring that she had planted a bunch of spring bulbs in it I didn’t know about and there she was saying “Hi!” that way.
I’ve written too long, too much, so I must bid You, Adieu!! barb
Thanks, Barb, for your response to my blog. As you can read, it is sporadic and the dates have too many spaces between them! I have signed up for an online blog class and will be paying more attention to my blog the next few months. I really enjoy blogs, interacting online and writing about what is “in my neighborhood,” both from our rv travels and now – from my home here in North Idaho. I lived on the NC/SC border many years ago and always wanted to move back to The Carolinas, but alas, most of my adult children are west of the Mississippi.
Stay tuned,
joan