Just kind of a thinking out loud thread. It's funny how much is stored back there, and how it can get shaken loose. These little memories keep coming to me. My father was generally off on Sundays and after church he would take us two towns over to the closest shopping mall, this would have been maybe 85 or 86. I loved Sears, mainly because they had an escalator, but I loved looking at all the stuff. It was rare to actually buy something. One day when I was perhaps 8 years old I remember my brother and I were given the opportunity to choose a small pewter animal. I remember looking at the shiny animals. My brother picked out a golden retriever, I picked out a unicorn. I don't remember specifics but I remember my Dad seeming aggravated by my choice, and I remember having to say that was really the one I wanted. I think this is the exact one. I also remember very clearly shopping for my first bicycle. We went to Wal-Mart in a nearby town because it was bigger, my Dad asked me what bike I wanted. I pointed at a bright yellow banana seat bike, and said I wanted that. I remember my Dad was like, no you don't want that bike, that's what girls ride. You want one of these BMX bikes for boys. I told him I liked the other one better and he told me I was wrong so I got the BMX bike, but I didn't dwell on it I figured my Dad knew everything, he definitely thought he did.
