When I was in 1st grade, all my tooth fairy and chore money went to purchasing Garbage Pail Kids from the local ice cream truck.
I amassed about 300 of them and took much pleasure in trading them with the other neighborhood kids.
I can't remember all of the ones that I had, but I seem to remember a Glandular Angela and a kid having his hair cut by a lawnmower.
They were freaky and funny and shocking. I loved them all.
My Garbage Pail Transactions were mostly carried out without parental involvement. (Except that they were supplying the money.) I didn't show the cards off to my folks, nor did I ever ask their opinion or permission regarding them.
I never knew my mother hated my Garbage Pail Kids collection until I lost my last baby tooth. The next morning I not only found money under my pillow, but found my entire Garbage Pail Kid collection missing. My mother first insisted that I must have lost them somewhere. (I had no defense against this, I lost things frequently.) She later wondered if perhaps the Tooth Fairy had taken the collection with her.
This didn't set off my mind's alarm bells until I was in my 20s. Looking back, that must have been her admission that she did away with them. I've asked her about it now, as an adult, but she says she doesn't recall what I'm talking about. Her face reveals her distaste for the Garbage Pail Kids, however.
Losing all 300 in one fell swoop was enough of a devastating blow that I never bothered trying to rebuild my collection again. I wish I could look at them one more time, with adult eyes, and see if what I liked about them is still there. I remember the illustrations being very detailed (and gross!) and wonder what I would make of them now.
I have kids now. Only one collects things. Seashells. I can't discern one of his seashells from the next (they are all the regular, white half clam shell that you find all along the southern coast.) but I don't throw them away. I bought him a box for them that he keeps under his bed.
