Real Irony Department...

...The 'Homeless' American Girls Doll, Only $95.00

Meet Gwen. She's the latest in the series of American Girls Dolls and she lives in her car! Celia Rivenbark Has the Details [click to read]. When my daughter was younger she saved her money to buy "Samantha," the Victorian American Girl Doll who's accompanying book gave you a slice of history. At $60.00 we thought the dolls were a bit pricey then but the creator of the company went to Wells College like my Mother-in Law so we were a pretty easy sell in the end.

Our daughter did all sorts of extra chores to earn Samantha and then there was the victorian wardrobe... and the furniture! That was made better than most everything in our house! Still it was a wonderful education.

Once a month we took our children to serve the Sunday meal at the Charlottesville Salvation Army. After a while we had 'proved' ourselves faithful with some of the regular guests and our kids got to interact with some people who lived day-to-day for most of their lives. They learned the joy of quiet service and expanded their world.

Ms Rivenbark sums it up nicely: "American Girl defenders believe that homeless doll Gwen provides a way to introduce your precious Oilily-clad cherub to the notion that Poor People Aren't Bad People. True that. But wouldn't it be even more effective to, say, donate that $95 to a food pantry or let your kids ladle soup at the homeless shelter a couple of times a month?"