The Aisle of the Dolls

No dice on Deuce Gorgon

In the world of volunteering it's often the case that one's assigned tasks have no connection with one's background or skills. We have seen teachers keeping books, lawyers baking cookies, and engineers organizing fund-raisers. And so it was that your humble observer, the father of two grown sons, spent three confused hours in the Monster High doll section at Target and Toys'R Us. (Our church is buying presents for two families in the Samaritan House Holiday Program.)

The 11-year-old girl already had several Monster High girls and really wanted a boy doll. I rummaged through dozens of different products on the shelves, but not a boy was to be found. A check online showed high boy-doll prices that were beyond our budget and delivery dates that were too close to Christmas. Our society really needs to do something about discrimination against male role models!

After selecting a Lalaloopsy doll--I feel uncomfortable just typing those words--for the 4-year-old I took the easy way out by buying Forever 21 gift cards for everyone else, including the Monster High collector. The sales clerk, a girl barely out of high school, began patiently explaining how gift cards work. "Thank you," I said, in the most sincere tone that I could affect.  I was more than ready to go home. © 2013 Stephen Yuen