Rat Pack and a Sidekick

No matter the generation, I’m sure we all have our fair share of experience enjoying the Rat Pack. If not the whole gang at least Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. Frank Sinatra is by far the most famous and Ol’ Blue Eyes is at the center of many of my childhood memories but this story is about another one of the members of the Rat Pack. Actually, it's about one of the other member’s sidekicks. As much as I loved Sinatra, I always really gravitated toward Dean Martin songs. He’s still a regular on my rotation. Having fallen in love with Dino, I couldn’t help but become a fan of Jerry Lewis. I loved that duo and they have definitely brought me many laughs. I especially like to play the song 'That Certain Party' for my kids when we are feeling super silly. Jerry Lewis was so much fun to watch with his crazy facial expressions, outrageous slapstick and surely exhausting physical comedic stunts. His own movies such as The Nutty Professor, Cinderfella and more were unforgettable but it was his work as spokesman for Muscular Dystrophy Association that I thought of first when I heard the news of his passing.

I'll never forget the feeling I had when I received my first Cabbage Patch Kid doll. I had dreamt of what she would look like if I was lucky enough to ever get one. Everyone had or desperately wanted one it seemed when I was a kid in the 80's. My Tia Evelyn had a sister who worked at Kmart and with that came the early access to new shipments. I got lucky and had an aunt with an "in"! There was talk of the doll coming soon and then the day came, we got the call. Tia Evelyn was on her way to my house with the doll. I had a major freak out and couldn't take the excitement! I remember running up and down the hall with a blanket over my head because I ... actually I don't know why, that part is just weird but I vividly remember doing it. I was half laughing, half crying with anticipation of meeting my new baby.

*side story: I was later told that my mom and Tia Evelyn had seen the dolls when they were stacked high on shelves of a store and picked them up, actually had them in their hands and said something like, "Man, these are ugly. Who would want these?"  and set them back down.

I opened my box and was in heaven with the intoxicating smell of my "beautiful" Roxy. Blonde side pony, green eyes, one tooth, Xavier Roberts signature on the hiney.

Roxy had everything a baby could need. I got her a diaper bag, stroller, come to think of it I never got the playpen, I thought I was getting it for Christmas one year but that ended up being for my cousin Andrea, heartbreak. Roxy was my sidekick, I brought her everywhere. All my friends and cousins at all our sleepovers and parties always had their Cabbage Patch Dolls. We were like our own Raggamuffin Rat Pack crew with our sidekicks. Most kids’ CPK doll collections started to grow and about a year later I decided it was time for Roxy to get a baby brother. Unfortunately, I was told something to the effect that those silly dolls were too expensive. I’d have to start saving my own money and so I did. The night before I was set to go buy a new Cabbage Patch Kid I ended up in front of the television after dinner.  Watching the Jerry Lewis MDA telethon, it didn't take long before I was bawling crying and dialing the number on the screen and pledging all my doll money, I believe I had $60. I remember that I didn't feel an ounce of regret or remorse for giving away every penny I had saved.

News traveled to another aunt, my Godmother, Tia Marita. She was proud of me and wanted to reward me for what I had done so she bought me a boy Cabbage Patch baby. He was perfect. He had a bald head, blue velvet overalls with a little grey elephant on the left side of his chest. I couldn’t wait to introduce him to his big sister Roxy and complete our family. I opened the envelope to read his birth certificate and his name was…….. Jerry.