I was walking to work the other day when, while scanning the sidewalk (I’m always looking for pennies), I saw something like a rubber band in the shape of – I don’t know – a prom dress?
It made me smile. It was one of those Silly Bandz.
They were very big a few years ago. They were silicon bands in shapes – dinosaurs, musical instruments, cars – to be worn around the wrist. Some of the more desirable ones glowed in the dark. Kids were very obsessed with them, trading them, comparing them. Some schools banned them, because they were a distraction. There were rumors that they were badges of sexual conquest. (This was more of a Fox News / Christian fanatic kind of thing.)
Here’s how I heard about them:
A couple of years ago, I was going through a bad time. My colleague Bill (who’s now at another job) asked what was the matter, and I told him, and he in turn told his kids (who’d met me) that Mister Loren was sad. His kids were very concerned about this, because they had never seen me sad.
So: they decided to send me some Silly Bandz: a roller-skate, and a circle, and a motorcycle.
I was overcome by this. I wore Bill’s kids’ gifts for months. I was taking a new mood-stabilizing medication too, which I’m pretty sure helped me, but the Silly Bandz helped me too. I wore them for the duration – at least six months; probably closer to a year.
(Bill told me that his kids had a hard time deciding which Silly Bandz to give me. They wanted to give me good ones, but they didn’t want to give up anything really collectible. He talked them into giving me the motorcycle and the roller skate, which were both very collectible, but which they were reluctant to give up, even to poor depressed Mister Loren.)
(But they did anyway, bless them.)
To Bill’s kids: a big belated thanks. You helped me up when I was down.
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