When I was a kid I liked the Big Jim figures. I liked to do sports and liked action figures so it was a perfect marriage of the two. My first figure however, was the Gay Lumberjack, BIG JOSH. He's the one with his two piece denim shorts and vest - perfect for any Pride Parade. He also was a tough guy who carried an axe and his log that you could split with the axe by pressing the button on Josh's back.
We moved to Europe on December 23rd 1972. I was Seven. The airport was very snowy and my Mother was worried about everything. I walked through the gift shop and they had this Josh figure. He was only FIVE dollars! I knew it would be the perfect thing for MY anxiety but she would hear none of it because Christmas was two days away. I was annoyed but excited about getting on the plane and temporarily forgot about the figure.
As we were walking out to the stairs, the hat of the soldier in front of us blew off. I immediately ran after it onto the tarmac while my mother and others were screaming at me. I got the hat, brought it back to the guy and he handed me FIVE DOLLARS. I thought it was destiny. I ran back into the airport (as more people screamed at me) grabbed the toy off the gift store shelf and slammed five dollars on the counter. I was back in line for the plane before anyone really knew what had happened.
When I sat down I finally weighed every consequence of my actions and I really didn't think I did anything wrong (the story of my life). Everything was fine and I got my action figure. That's was a win/win for me.
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6 comments:
That is a great story Kal.
This story would only be better if it turned out your Mom had already bought you one for Christmas. Then the 2 Gay Lumberjack Jims could have lived happily ever after.
YOU SEE....I would have been so ahead of my time. But I am sure that Josh took a long longing look at GI JOE when they were together in the toybox.
Don't ask, don't tell I guess :)
Excellent Story, Cal. Love those 'I-Must-Acquire-This-Toy' stories of all kinds.
'Course, I had to buy 'em YEARS later, and pay a LOT more than ever expected, but mine are the Mattel Space:1999 Eagle, '73 Ideal Spiderman playset, a MMM Space Station, and a few of my vintage Captain Action sets..
My Spidey playset actually looks exactly like this one.., still wrapped:
http://spidermancollector.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/1973_ideal_playcase_1.jpg
It's the one my Mom decided against buying for me at a K-Mart for $2.99. Suffice to say, I spent a few cents more.
Can you believe they were ever that inexpensive? When I get my time machine to work I am not going to kill Hitler. I am going to buy action figures from past decades. 100 dollars should do it. GAH!
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