When I was a little girl, the only thing I wanted for my 10 th birthday was Samantha, the American Girl doll . Back then, the dolls were relatively new and all the rage for girls my age. The only problem was, they were $80 each and that was more than I could possibly hope for in our middle class family. So I saved all my birthday money that year, $40, and my mom agreed to pay the other half for the doll. Finally, Samantha arrived in the mail and I remember brushing her silky dark hair and dressing her up in white pinafore dress with all the excitement and delight that a young girl could possibly possess. Today as I dusted my house, I thought about the few childhood knick knacks, books, clothes, and stuffed animals that have made it with me through 3 out of state moves, and a severe space down grade from a 4 bedroom house with attic and garage, to a 2 bedroom apartment with barely a front closet. Samantha was one of the lucky few that made it all this way. She actually sits in m