I Don’t Want To Grow Up…
What can I say about Toys R Us closing that hasn’t already been said?
Like many folks, it’s a place where I grew up.
It’s the place where I grew up.
The Colma location was where my parents took us for birthday and Christmas gifts, and the occasional time for doing a good thing.
It’s where my friends and I would stop on road trips, in our 20s and 30s, and for me, through my 50s.
It’s where I think we got our first home computer, the ViC-20.
The big Space: 1999 Eagle One Transport, a Christmas gift.
Micronauts.
Most of the Star Wars toys that I ever owned, including the Millennium Falcon that my parents bought for me after telling me they would if I cleaned the house, which I did from top to bottom, to their shock, er, surprise that same day when they got home from work.
Great Mazinga, a birthday purchase after my godmother gave me money in my birthday card. I saw a $20 bill held by a paper clip attached to the card, and when I handed the clipped money to the cashier, she handed a second $20 bill back to me, along with the rest of my change. Talk about surprised, that was more money than I ever had, prior to getting and saving allowance from my parents.
The first Jeff Gordon die cast car that I owned, still sitting in my workstation at the office.
Midnight release of toys for the Star Wars prequels, I think I went to all three of those. They had them for the last three recent Star Wars films.
G.i. Joes and other action figures, from Megos to Marvel Legends.
Fisher-Price Little People.
Plastic model kits.
Estes Rockets, which my Dad was reluctant to let me get into, until he saw a launch at Candlestick Park when my brother was learning how to drive and park. Dad took me to Toys R Us to pick up the Estes Rockets X-15 starter kit, later that day.
I’m not 100% sure it’s where I got the Six Million Dollar Man, or the first Battlestar Galactica toys, or even various early Star Trek toys.
I do recall getting the 12″ Indiana Jones figure there in 1981, but never seeing the original 3.75″ Indy figures.
And the last thing I got from Toys R Us?
The Infinity Gauntlet.
With time I could go on and on about other items acquired from TRU over the years, but I won’t.
I’ll just say that I’ll be sad when the stores close. But the memories will stay with me.
I’m a Toys R Us kid. And I always will be.
Xmas 2016
Eventful
The last week has been rather eventful, both good and bad.
The CW successfully showed that a multi-night multi-series crossover with superheroes can work. And it was awesome.
At work a division director was ‘retired’, and a coworker was lost in the Oakland warehouse fire. And through all that, I’ve actually managed to stay sane. Angry and upset, but sane.
And other stuff happened.
Right now I’m focused on getting through the rest of this year, with Rogue One and Christmas waiting in the next couple of weeks.
Here’s to an uneventful rest of 2016.