I was at work and found an awesome pen in a random pencil cup. It was really "inky" kind of like a gel pen. I was writing along, and thought: "This pen is sweet! Just like the pens the kids had on Ghostwriter."
I have not thought of the PBS TV Series Ghostwriter for at least 10 years. From 1992 to 1995 I loved this lame show. It's about a ghost that helps kids in New York solve mysteries. They can only communicate with letters provided by the kids, I remember he was fond of the alphabet magnets on the fridge. In later seasons Ghostwriter even learned to communicate on DOS based Internet...there was obviously a reason I forgot all about this show until last night.
Anyway, as a kid, I was a little obsessed with office supplies--especially pens. One year my Grandma gave us $20 cash for Christmas and I spent the entirety of my small fortune on coveted office supplies. Office Max was one of my favorite stores...with this crazy love for pens I had a deep appreciation for the pens used by "the team" on Ghostwriter:
They used pens that were basically black fine tip markers, but attached to the lid was a lanyard type necklace. That way they could just pull down mid mystery to get more clues from Ghostwriter.
So I lusted after these amazing pens for some time, when to my joy, they had a promotion to get your own Ghostwriter pen. I can't remember the exact details of the promo but I remember having to wait until the end of many episodes to write down different things--maybe it was as simple as getting an address to mail in $2, but I remember it taking weeks to be able to send it off, followed by an eternity before getting the bulky envelope in the mail.
After my dedicated weeks waiting for each episode to end, and all the days checking the mailbox daily, it finally came time to use my amazing Ghostwriter pen. I opened it up and found: a crappy ballpoint that didn't even produce ink, but just scratched along the paper. The neck strap was worse than a shoelace and the first time I tried to pop off my pen mid-run, the whole pen came off.
GHOSTWRITER JIPPED ME!!!
It was probably the biggest disappointment of the entire 9th year of my life.
I could definitely sympathize with Ralphie from Christmas Story. We were both swindled by big, non-existent celebrities just trying to sell a buck. At least Orphan Annie gave Ralphie something he could use more than once.
4 comments:
Your posts always make he laugh. I totally remember that show and loved it too. I can't say that I share your love of office supplies though. That is a great story. I love how you find ways to reminisce. I think I even am remember the theme song a little.
Two thoughts come to mind. First, that I loved Gabby on that show and insisted for many years I would name a little girl Gabrielle. I actually even tried! J said it was a mouthful. Second, I totally remember when Twix did a promotion to be able to be a stand-in for an episode of Full House. I don't even want to think of how many stamps, 3x5 inch cards, and Twix went to waste. Who am I kidding, the Twix didn't go to waste!
That is SO funny! I loved that show too! I'm sorry the pen didn't work out!
I loved that show too! We would waste our entire summer in front of the TV when we were in elementary school and watch Ghostwriter, where in the world is carmen san diego, and other equally lame shows. But, at that time, it was awesome.
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