The Joy Buzzer

    Jokes, novelties, magic tricks --- they were all really fascinating when I was a kid. There was a store in Magnolia Park back in the 1950’s, the Party Shop on Magnolia Boulevard. It had them all, just about every kind of item you could want and then some.
    There was always some item that we just had to buy so we could trick our friends and family. There was Alum Chewing Gum. It was regular gum coated with powdered alum. When chewed, it made your mouth go very dry and your lips and tongue swell up a little. I don’t think they are allowed to sell it today. Then there were the plastic ice cubes with various simulated insects inside. Whoppie Cushions were among my favorites. Up through junior high, my friends and I found the cushion irresistible.
    Joy Buzzers, however, were really special. At 25 cents, one was exactly the same as my weekly allowance. It was just a little metal wind-up device, not much bigger than the diameter of a quarter. It had a ring that slipped on your finger so you cold hide the device in the palm of your hand. When it came in contact with someone, it vibrated. Being a 10 year-old kid, I didn’t exactly have many opportunities to shake peoples’ hands. So I found other more ingenious ways to use it. Put under a pillow on the bed, or under the sheets, it would give any unsuspecting person a jolt. My parents must have gotten tired of my tricks, but they never let on. Instead my mom stuck the thing under the sheet in my bed one night. I jumped a couple of feet in the air when it went off. Oh the fond memories of the Joy Buzzer.
    There is a darker side to my Joy Buzzer story, however. When I was in the 5 th grade at Henry M. Mingay Elementary School, I brought the buzzer to school. I wasn’t even using it on anyone. I just had it in my hand, making it buzz as I walked across the playground. Unfortunately, I passed within 50 feet of Miss Lee. She was a first-year teacher. Not much taller than the students --- but obviously a mean lady. She called me over and demanded I turn over my Joy Buzzer. She said I could have it back at the end of the school year.
    Several months passed by before that day in June when school finally ended. As soon as I was dismissed at 3 o’clock, I went straight to Miss Lee’s room to reclaim my confiscated property. I can still see it in my mind. She opened her desk drawer –crammed full with ill-gotten toys confiscated from other innocent students. She rummaged around for a few seconds before announcing that she couldn’t find my Joy Buzzer. How can you lose a Joy Buzzer? It was obvious to me that she had kept it for herself.
    A half-century has gone by, but I haven’t forgotten. I’m still mad at Miss Lee. To this day, I think about how she “stole” my Joy Buzzer. Now that I’m a teacher, I haven’t let the lesson I learned that day escape me. I don’t like confiscating stuff from students. If I do take something away, like an annoying toy, or cell phone, or CD player --- relatively harmless objects that they shouldn’t have at school --- I give it back to them at the end of the class period. I never want to be like that mean old Miss Lee.
    I bet she’s probably sitting at home right now, close to 80 years-old, consumed with guilt all these years --- still playing with MY Joy Buzzer.

--- Stan

Questions or Comments email Stan at Burbank History.Com

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