Like many young girls, I was really into Barbie.  But unlike many young girls, I loved the old Barbies.  Give me that classic ponytail’ed black and white swimsuit clad Barbie over the  the straight haired, string bikini wearing Malibu Barbie any day!  In 1994, Mattel re-released the Barbie: Queen of the Prom game that was originally released in 1961.  The goal of the game was to get a steady boyfriend, become the president of a club, buy a dress and then be the first one to the prom.  Up to four players could take part, and there were four boyfriends to choose from.  Ken, of course, was the most handsome, Bob, who for some reason had white hair, there was Pointdexter, who no one ever wanted, and then there was Tom, a red-haired, thick rim glasses wearing guy in a blue sweater and a charming, though timid smile.  From the third grade all the way through high school, I dug Tom.  Even though he did take part in experiments with little white mice as noted in a “Surprise” card.

Fast forward to today…Friday night I had an middle school/old high school friend come up from California to visit.  She stayed the night, we reminisced, watched movies, and played Queen of the Prom, a thing we always did whenever she stayed the night.  I hadn’t played the game in over three years and when it came to pulling out the boyfriend cards I looked at Tom’s card, thinking of all the “good times” he and I “had” in playing the game in the past.  Just then, Patrick, my real boyfriend, strode out of his office, through the living room where my friend and I were playing and into the kitchen.  I looked from him to Tom’s card and back again…it was frightening.  I realized that Pat looked just like Tom – red hair, thick rim black glasses…just, well, Pat’s hair is a little more uncivilized, but the resemblance is still there.

The icing on the cake?  Even though Patrick and I dated in high school, the only dance we ever went to together was our senior prom, however, I wasn’t crowned Queen – I was never that popular.