Sharing one blog on another blog

I posted a blog on the CJ's Derby Fun site today that I thought I would share here. Here is the link -- http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/news1/blog.html
But I'm also including the text here because it won't stay at the top of the blog for long.

Barbie dilemma

I wasn’t one of those girls who grew up playing with dolls. I’d rather put my nose in a book or watch The Muppet Show. My sister loved dolls and I just didn’t get it.

But there was one doll that was never allowed in our house — Barbie. My mom, a bit of a hippy, decided that Barbie wasn’t a very good role model for her two daughters. And we weren’t allowed to have them. I developed a strong dislike for the leggy blonde.

It was pretty tough when years later I had a half-sister who lived and died for her Barbies. She had the dream house, the mobile home, the airplane, a jeep and a host of other contraptions for Barbie to play in. Alex would often ask me why I never gave her Barbies for Christmas and birthdays, to which I would reply, “I hate Barbie.” Her inevitable reply would be to ask me if I would then be the Ken in whatever Barbie scenario she was acting out. She very nearly got me once when she spotted a Barbie in a University of Michigan cheerleader outfit … my alma mater. Still, I didn’t cave.

But when the news broke a couple of weeks ago that there was a new Derby Barbie doll. I once again was faced with a pretty serious Barbie dilemma. To buy or not to buy?

Here’s the thing: I love Derby. I have since I went to my first Derby where I spent the day in the Infield with my dad when I was in the 2^nd grade. I might be one of the few reporters around here who actually looks forward to Derby week and being out at the track, instead of seeing it as a constant drain of time and energy.

So, this Barbie bedecked in her pretty floral dress, strappy sandals and wide-brimmed Derby hat is kind of appealing to me. I think it’s kind of a unique trinket to mark the Derby. And I’ve been struggling over the past couple weeks with the idea of getting one. I keep saying that it would be a great gift for my 8-year-old niece, who has no Barbie aversion. Wouldn’t it make me the cool aunt who lives hundreds of miles away in Kentucky? Though she’d probably prefer it if I sent her a horse.

I just got a look at the doll … and I will say she is missing some key accessories. She is wearing those heels, but we all know she will end up walking barefoot out of the track if she doesn’t pack some flip-flops. She doesn’t have any bets in her hands. She’s forgotten her sunscreen — or rain poncho. There’s no program for her to review her horses.

Still, that little girl inside me who never played with dolls still thinks it might be kind of cool to bring this doll home — and maybe keep it for myself.

— Jessie Halladay, Courier-Journal reporter