Over the years, we have ribbed my Mom about all the family photos she takes and boxes of stuff she's held onto...like tons of stuff. I've grown to appreciate it a little more w/ each passing year and really ended up appreciating this last Labor Day Weekend. 
We were at my folks house and I had another one of those wild 'holy shit, i'm a real-life Dad' moments...of the cool variety (just to qualify). Amidst the Ali-Baba-esque basement treasure trove of toys laid out for the Grandkids, I watched as both of my boys gravitated towards some of the same exact toys I played with when I was their age. Aside from the same exact Fisher Price Little People Circus Train pictured above, I also came face to face w/ what looked to be at least 9-10 of my favorite Matchbox/Hot Wheels cars including (but not limited to)...
THE FLYING BEETLE!Not to mention a few others hot rods, dragsters and dune buggies that still have have the little details like the Moon Eyes and Valvoline Racing stickers intact...banged up, but legible. Seriously, it was like a surreal time machine to see the boys play w/ all of that stuff...some of it 30 years older than they are, but (obviously) no less cool!
Funny enough, I recently noticed that Fisher Price was re-releasing a bunch of their classics in their original design, including one of my favorites of all time...
THE CHATTY TELEPHONE!
Hells yes! Who needs a cellphone? This baby has a pull-along string AND it smiles at you. I saw one at the store and almost bought it...hell, I still might. Not for the boys though, but just to admire amongst the other useless toys and pieces of ephemera in my Scrooge McDuck-like vault that my closet is becoming. You should see what the little boogers do to their toys. *Shudder*
2 comments:
You know bro, I know we grew up in the same town and everything and were only a year apart, but the similarities here sometimes are creepy (perhaps our similar backgrounds are why the "formerly big bald one" enjoys each of our company?)!
Upon a recent trip "back home" we came back with a toy or two that accidently wound up in my daughter's toy box (it was the Chatty Telephone that my Mom had saved all those years ago). It still works perfectly well and she drags it across the wood floor making all sorts of racket. The eyes move up and down, but the smile is painted on fyi (perhaps your childhood memories are "cheating" on you here!).
Must say tho I'm a tad perplexed as to why FP would be re-releasing (reissue-ing?) an old toy like this calling it a telephone when the said phones haven't looked like this in years. Might as well call it something else for all it will make sense to a kid calling it a phone. How about "loud-creepy-smiling-eye-bobbing-thing-on-a-string w/wheels"?
working for a cellphone manufacturer, i can tell you that fitting 'bobbing-eyes' onto a circuit board are pretty tough.
i'm waiting for a re-issue of the classic stretch armstrong w/ the oozing plastic goo that gave me a thrid eyeball on the plam of my hand.
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