|
|
|
"I remember back in the day..." is a sure sign you might be getting up there. Talking to a friend the other day, it occurred to me that we all have a favorite set of stories. Memories, really, of things in our past. Not only do we like to remember them, we also like to tell them - over and over- to anyone who will listen. As it happens, I *like* to hear other people's stories over and over, because (1) sometimes I forget the details; (2) sometimes it's nice to hear about someone else's enthusiasm about something, and that joy rubs off; and (3) it gives me justification to tell *my* story again :-) So here it is, Fred's 'you probably already heard it before, but I'm telling it again' story: - My first Transformer was Sideswipe. 8.99 from Kohl's dept store. - Technically, my first Transformer was Windcharger, from Kmart. 2.49. But he broke immediately out of the package, so we took him back, and I got a papa smurf instead. - I beat the piss out of that Sideswipe. Drove him thru gravel, submerged him in water and froze him, fought many a battle against toiletpaper tube and styrofoam box armies.
- I still have him. And all his accs. I don't know why I am so proud of the fact that I hung onto this Sideswipe, but I am. I'll likely take a few pictures of him shortly and upload them. In fact, here they are: |
 Look at it. Just look at it. *This* was a toy that was loved :-) |
 A shot from a slightly different angle. You'll notice the tape on the windows. As I grew older, I got the notion in my head that I wanted to 'restore' my G1 Swipe (after all, there wasn't much paint on it after the gravel, and there weren't such things as collectible stores and ebay yet.) Obviously, I never finished the project... because about that time, G2 came out :-) Bought a black Sideswipe to play with. Didn't put him in the gravel, though. |
 These are the parts that kind of fell off over the years. I hung onto them as well :-) |
 And there he is, in all his glory. I still get that old time thrill just looking at him, transforming him... the flood of memories is still very strong even though we're approaching 30 years on this toy... practically a lifetime ago. I do know why I'm proud that I still have it. Because I didn't have much to begin with, and the fact that I got this meant the world to me. Everything... and everyone else surrounding the history of this toy is gone now. But this toy remains. To remind me. As long as I have this, I will never forget.
It was a good life. I miss it. I miss them. |