Little did I expect at this stage of my column career the Barbie doll would be my subject. I was not one who would have played with Barbie dolls, since I was past the stage and had preferred baby dolls anyway. 

I will admit to having an original Ken doll in the box. It was a gift from my mom, who felt sorry for me because that Christmas I didn’t have a boyfriend. Needless to say, the following year I did have a boyfriend, who coincidentally wound up to be Husband Joe. 

So, Barbie the doll took off and many little girls had not just one Barbie, but a collection of clothes for everyday wear as well as professional wear. It was the intent that Barbie could teach what little girls could be in today’s world. 

Barbie dolls also became collectibles, issued in costumes that are affixed to historical personalities. Often these dolls were kept in their original boxes to keep or increase their values. It was apparent those dolls were not meant to be played with and often were collected by adults. 

So now we come to today’s Barbie and a new era. I naively believed the new blockbuster movie was geared toward the young Barbie aficionados of today. Evidently, it is a movie geared towards adults and enjoyed by a number of people, breaking box office records over the weekend. 

I guess it really is a good movie, and Ryan Gosling is even mentioned as an Oscar candidate. I don’t know if he would be my character choice; obviously it’s a good thing they didn’t ask me. 

Helping the box office high was the soaring heat. What better way to cool off by checking out a flick and getting a big box of popcorn.

Speaking about weather, everybody is talking about it but can’t do a thing about. I think the person who invented air conditioning was a man named Carrier. Luckily, the air conditioning at Cantata has remained good, even the other night during the storm. There were a few blips, but the service was good. TV was off, so I said my rosary hoping all would be helped and fell asleep. 

Stay cool everyone, although we will be talking about this heatwave for quite a while.