[Erin] Toys, remembered

Two gifts stick out-- one is my "Wild Fire" bike, my first regular bicycle that was black and had cool flame decals on it. I was five. The other was a giant book of pictures of Topps baseball cards from 1951 to (I think) 1985. I was (and still am) a huge baseball nut, though I no longer collect cards. Both are long gone now.

Certainly one of the best was a fairly large plastic Viking ship. If one wanted to float it, one could attach a weight to the underside so that it would not fall over. I seem to remember playing with it in the clear water of a river at Nesika Park (or some such place) in Oregon. Happiness.

I not only had a GI Joe (one of the original ones, from the 60s), but I also had an astronaut doll called Major Matt Mason, who came with a space ship (on a string that could be strung across the room, so that the space ship could "fly"), a Moon buggy, and another astronaut doll as his co-pilot (alas, I have forgotten the friend's name). There were also a few books about Major Matt Mason's adventures.

I also had Matchbox Cars (tm) ("Each for about a buck," as the commercials said). And a set of three space alien robots, called Xeroids (I still regret letting my mother give those to good will, as does one of my good friends, who enjoyed playing with them with me, and who still needles me about the fact that I let my mother give them away). (I still have the GI Joe somewhere, and no, I'm not going to sell it on E-bay.)

But I think I had the most ongoing, creative fun with a simple set of blocks (my friend and I build a block city, which we then populated with the Matchbox cars and Xeroids), Lincoln Logs, and Tinkertoys.

And, of course, DC Comics.

Oh yeah, how could I forget Major Matt Mason. I had the Space Crawler AND the Moon Base Station.

I remember getting caps for the metal gun I had and I was under 10! We also had metal tops, metal Slinkies. And we survived.
Creepy Cralwers and Erector set were fun, too.

Major Mason's sidekick was Lt. Sandy . . . Sandy . . . Sandy Rhodes, maybe? I know he had red hair and an orange spacesuit, and those strings the jetpacks "flew" on across the room were always getting tangled up. Loved the Moon Base, though. I also long pined for, and ultimately got, the Space Capsule for GI-Joe, with the silvery pressure suit and helmet with visor, and jet gun to steer you on spacewalks, just like they took on the Gemini-Agena missions.

I had that Major Matt Mason spacecrawler as well, along with a little inflatable"moon tent" for those cold nights on the moon :-)

And that moon tent was one of my best recollected toys.

Probably says a lot about who I was to become that another of my favorites was the "EZ Bake Oven" that I personally requested, probably to my poor parents befuddlement.

My Lite Brite was also pretty cool - gave me hours of pleasure.

And I always liked Spirograph.

Worst toys to give?

Clackers.

Now there's a toy for children's self-destruction.

That, and lawn darts.

Richard,

Dewd, you are an ANIMAL!

Irenaeus:

Our politics and religious beliefs couldn't be further apart, but in human life, any set of two people have to have SOMETHING in common.

And now we do.

I couldn't get enough Legos. Literally. My favorite thing to do was to build stadiums and arenas of my favorite sports teams, which required a LOT of Legos. (My folks thought I was going to be an architect ... alas, I only grew up to date one for awhile.)

I've never visited SoCal, but the Lego amusement park would be high on my list with Disneyland and Hollywood and the rest. (If the wildfires don't burn it down, of course.)

Ah, telescope. At the age of 10 i got a little watching pipe, it magnified not more than theater glasses, but it was such a joy! It was possible to observe Jupiter's satellites, although mother believed it was all imagination.:)It was a great gift.

But still the best gift for a child is a bicycle, agree with AnotherBeliver. My first and the last gift bike didn't live long, it got into a ditch and crashed in two parts. Even if i get Mercedes-600, Lexus or Cherooke now, it wouldn't be even half as delightful as when that little orange bicycle entered our flat. On two wheels! not on 3 or 4 like bikes for babies :)

Our Siamese cats, Nip and Tuck. They were a very gentle, sweet, people-oriented bluepoint and a slightly more stand-offish, but in later years, very affectionate, gorgeous seal point. They spent the first few days living in the bathroom and hid behind the toilet whenever we came in.

Other gifts I remember are the gingerbread house that a parishioner used to make (my father was a Lutheran minister) and the red knit dress made for me by our Lebanese exchange student, the wool Christmas stockings knitted for us by an elderly family friend.

As far as toys, I loved the Lincoln Logs, and books, various dolls, and, of course, "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."

Metro Center, thank you for your kind words on my relatives, for they are good people all, and not just for buying me presents. ;)

In our TMI moment for today, creativity was not something my parents encouraged in our home; I was always so grateful for the crayons, paper, etc., that was given to me that I went through them like water. The resulting drawings, short stories and the like, though meant with resounding indifference by my parents, kept me entertained and happy in my (not so) happy home. (I told you it was TMI).

I, too, loved going to the library (still do) and have bought tons of paperback books in my day. I also love and bought (most) kinds of music, which also wasn't allowed in our home (except country and gospel, neither of which I can stand to this day, which would be our second TMI moment, wouldn't it?).

But, I thank you again for your kind words about my relatives.

Have A Great Night!!

Anonymous Also, you're very welcome. (If it's any comfort, I can't stand country or gospel music either--but I think my entire household would have disliked it, too.) Well, perhaps you and I should both take some time this evening to read a library book and make a colored-pencil drawing. Best wishes,

Wow, they really need a "preview" button on here to save me from myself at times...

My last post was for Metro Center, but the Happy Thanksgiving part goes out to MC, and all who post on here.

Enjoy!!

Thank You!! :-)