For April Fools we're going a little bit silly. Today's model is an odd one, but nostalgic for me nonetheless. This is a squishy, stylized, stress-ball kind of figurine of Sandy, the coin-operated horse ride. Anyone who grew up near a Meijer store (might be unique to the US, I'm not sure) will probably recognize her. She sits at the front of the store, and you can use a penny to ride on her back for a few moments. She kind of goes up and down and back and forward. I'm not sure who made this little toy, but it was made for the Meijer stores.
I have many fond memories of riding on these penny horse rides when I was a kid. Mostly it was the Meijer Sandy here, with her distinct brown coat and socks, but other stores and places had different colors of Sandy. I seem to remember Meijer even having a white one at some point. Anyway, as soon as I found out there was a little effigy of her, I had to go get one.
I worry a little about Sandy these days. Now that pennies (1 cent coins) in the US are no longer made, I wonder if her price will change, or if she'll be phased out entirely. With Meijer capitalizing on our memories of her, I kind of doubt they'll get rid of her anytime soon. I hope that's true.
Anyway, here's a photo of a Sandy ride at a Meijer store, found on woodtv.com:
The little cup on the base is for people to toss pennies into, so that kids can have a free ride. From what I understand, this was an organic thing that people just started doing, and I think it's a really nice show of kindness in the world. It's a tiny thing, but sometimes that's a lot.
Anyway, may your April Fool's be full of whimsy.
