Song Of The Day 12/20/2015: Gayla Peevey – “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas”

Christmas Week – Well, I suppose it's a direct request, isn't it? No passive-aggressive walkarounds for Gayla Peevey. A hippopotamus it is. How she came to arrive at this particular wish, I don't know. There doesn't seem to be a record of hippopotamuses being used for child-targeted marketing at any point in the era of electronic media. Nothing cuddlesome about 'em, nothing particularly noble or brave. They're probably marginally more attractive than rhinoceroses but that's a pretty thin compliment. Hippos are a bit down the food chain of gigantic animals inappropriate for possession by a child. I would think giraffes would be at the top of the heap. Then you'd have camels, gorillas, stegosauruses (any kind of dinosaurs actually, I'm just a Stegs man), giant cats, even elephants. I don't see the emotional connection between kids and hippos. Fact is, if this kid lived on my block I'd probably advise my kids to construct a game plan if they were going to play with her. She's a girl you have to strategize over.

By the way, Gayla Peevey grew up to become Jamie Horton, whose "My Little Marine" was featured on these pages just last week. When it rains it pours. Let's hope it's not hippo excrement.