I was disappointed with the sea-monkeys.  

I remember so vividly seeing the ads at the back of Betty and Veronica comic books.  I wanted them desperately.  I don’t even know how long I plagued my mother for permission.  She tried to talk me out of it, but I wouldn’t budge.  I wasn’t interested in the other ads for an ant farm or one where you had to sell greeting cards to earn prizes.  I think my brother did that one.  

But the sea-monkeys were the best.  Those cute little creatures could even be trained!  Or so the ad said.  I got a 10 cent allowance at the time, so it took me a while to save up the $1.25.  I was delirious by the time the package came several weeks later.  I followed those instructions to the letter and waited for my enchanting family to hatch. 

Trouble was, they didn’t look at ALL like the hand-drawn creatures in the ad.  They looked like little blobs; no crowns, no tails, no smiles.  And they wouldn’t do ANYTHING.  I’ll even admit that I tried to train them to come to the side of the fish bowl whenever I tapped on it.  

Either I had a batch of defective sea-monkeys ... or...the ad lied.  It was a hard lesson in “caveat emptor”.  Maybe that’s why I’ve never been taken in by Nigerian businessmen.