Nostalgia [Part 2] – Toys

The past couple of months going through all of my old stuff and other things I’ve found things that were long gone from my current memory.  I laughed when I pulled out thing after thing out of these packed away boxes.  These small things from my past.  Toys, music, books, and other little trinkets. This post will be dedicated to the toys I played with.

Toys

I’ve always loved toys.  I think they are just the greatest.  My parents never gave me everything I wanted, and were very stringent on what toys I did get.  Which I think made me thankful for those small things that I did have, but there were those fads that came around that it seems like all the “cool” kids had. It was the same way with almost everything.

Growing up with the hey-day of the power rangers and the start of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle craze, it was beginning of what is now a huge industry where kids are even more fickle and flippant with their toys than I ever even was.  I could talk all day about the different toys that I had, but I’ll talk about the ones that stick in my mind the most.

Pogs

I can say that Pogs were the coolest uncool thing I have ever been a part of.   I was unpacking some old boxes at how when I found a Ziploc bag with what was known as a “slammer” and a couple of Pogs.  I  must’ve thought i would want to keep these Pogs at one time.  Maybe I thought they would be collectors items.  I laughed out loud.  I tossed them, but I do miss the times of playing Pogs.

We would play during lunch, on the playground and sometimes on a bus going somewhere (which was tricky).  It was always complete luck whether you would win or not.  I mean why were Pogs as popular as they were.  Someone must’ve done one heck of a job marketing.  Because if you tell a kid that we’re going to sell him some pieces of cardboard and a large metal coin and he’s going to throw something at it and the ones he turns over he gets to keep.  It was almost like priming us all to gamble later in life… Oh Pogs.

Tamagotchi

Big in the U.S., but even bigger in Japan.  At the age of 13 or so when these got popular they were the beginning of the end for electronic devices in schools. My favorite part was that it was a keychain, and at that age I should have any keys to anything other than my house.  They were such a waste of time, but they were so addictive.  We were all so worried with how our little guy was doing, and if he had grown.

The best part about the Tamagotchi was that most of kids had a real pet at home, but we would rather play with our fake pet.  Of course with this pet you could kill it, and not have to worry about anything besides hitting the reset button on the back.  Tamagotchi finally grew up and you could battle them with each other, but I also grew up, but I am surprised there isn’t an iPhone app for Tamagotchi… I might download it.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

TMNT is probably the coolest thing ever. I don’t know if I really need to say much else about it, but I can say that the best part about TMNT was all the cool characters and that they said “Cowabunga!”.

Being the only boy in my house growing up I had to try to talk my sister into playing TMNT with me.  She usually would, but with one condition… I had to play Barbies with her for a little bit.  The thing was I didn’t know how to play with Barbies, but I knew how to take off Ken’s head.  So I would often create little scenarios that I would play out by myself, but don’t worry if friends came over we always played TMNT.

I vividly remember going to see a TMNT movie when it first came out for my birthday.  A group of my friends all went to Pizza Hut and then went to see the movie.  It was a great birthday.  I still remember it to this day.

Age 0 and up

One thing we all need to remember is that you are never to old to have a little fun.  I think Dave and Busters is proof of that.  I still love a good trip to Toys R Us every once and a while.  Its a good standby random trip to do with your girlfriend.

I can’t wait til my kids are old enough for me to play with their toys.  I just know they’re going to tell me to stop and let them have a turn.