The Rock'N'Roll Express - Pet Rat Candy

    June 26, 2026 |  Friday Morning | 9:46 AM 

                           My First Pet 

My very first pet was my Pet Rat Gummy Candy that I named Robert Gibson! Yes, I named my Pet Rat after Robert Gibson from The Rock'N'Roll Express! True story!

My older sister Yiyah & I walked to 7-11 a short distance from our house. It took us about 15 minutes to walk there, but as kids, we had all the energy in the world so some days it could have taken us 8 - 10 minutes to walk there. It depended on our moods, I guess. We walked to 7-11 every other day sometimes & one day when we got there we saw these huge Pet Rat gummy candies & we had to buy one. It was something new in the store and I've always loved gummy worms so I wanted to try the Pet Rat's, too. 

On our way home we were talking about what we should name them. Because, we planned on keeping them as pet rats for as long as possible! LoL! Adult me is laughing, thinking about that moment in time! 🤣🤣🤣 But, we were serious about trying to keep them as pet rats! 

Yiyah said different names out loud. Her not so secret crushes! Some of our favorite cartoon characters & favorite movie actors. Then, she shouted, "Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson." I agreed! "Mine is Ricky. Yours is Robert." She said! I didn't mind. I loved The Rock'N'Roll Express from wrestling. I was excited to have my pet rat Robert Gibson. To me, it felt like he was connected to me in real life and it was the coolest thing ever. 

Mom watched wrestling religiously. Faithfully. Her life revolved around wrestling. Therefore, ours did, too. As a little girl I loved watching wrestling. I had an older brother who was training to become a professional wrestler & he was almost there. He passed away before he was able to make his dreams of becoming a professional wrestling come true, but he sure loved wrestling. 

Whenever I had my pet rat with me, I'd pretend to have the energy of Robert Gibson. Or, I'd pretend that he was next to me. So, if I had to do my chores I'd pretend to activate the energy of Robert Gibson & I'd Go Go Gadget & get my chores done quickly. Then, I'd say, "Thank you, Robert Gibson for your help." Yes, I'd talk to my gummy pet rat & pretend The Great Rock'N'Roll Express wrestler was within his gummy body! LoL! 

Sometimes, I would talk to my pet gummy rat 🐀 & tell him about my day. I was picked on a lot at school & made fun of because of my crooked teeth & uneven cut hair. Or, I'd have a hole in my shoe at the big toe space & I'd have holes on the knees from falling & scraping my knees. 

As a little girl, I didn't dwell on their negativity too much, but it did hurt me sometimes. No child in school should ever be called ugly, stupid or dirty. And, those are the main things that I was bullied for in elementary school. 

I'd talk to my pet rat and tell him, "The kids at recess today kept calling me ugly. They told me nobody wants to be friends with me because I'm ugly." Robert Gibson was now my pet rat in that moment & he was my friend. 

I'd wipe my eyes & catch my breath. I'd hold my pet rat 🐀 in my hands & the tears streamed quickly. Fast. All at once & then I was done crying. "I'm not ugly." I'd say out loud in my bedroom. With my Cabbage Patch dolls, Rainbow Brite, Smurfette doll & other dolls all at the foot of my bed. 

When my sister Yiyah was around with her pet rat, we'd become The Rock'N'Roll Express! After she was done wrestling one afternoon she took a big bite out of her gummy rat & ate it. I was shocked. "Yiyah!" I shouted. "You're eating Ricky Morton." I said. 

"Lillian, it's candy!" She said. Laughing. 

Yes, I knew it was candy. But, we made a pact not to eat them because they were our pet rats. I knew that they weren't real, but to me, it was important to honor our pact. Candy or not. 

Then, I eventually ate my pet rat, too. "I'm so sorry Robert Gibson. I'm going to eat your hands and feet now." I told him. Then, I finished eating my gummy candy & in my mind I apologized to him again over & over! 


Xoxo 🌹 


Love,  


Me 

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