Back Talk

When I was a kid, (it seems most of these posts start with that phrase. I need a different opening. Perhaps, when I was a wee lad or maybe back when I was knee high to a grasshopper. Better still, Once Upon A Time. I don’t think anyone has used that one.) Okay, Once upon a time…when I was a kid(*sigh* old habits die hard), nothing was more joyful than summertime. Endless days to do whatever you wanted and time enough to forget all that useless stuff we learned in school.

For me, there were several key markers which served as the official start of Summer. Alice Coopers, “School’s Out” blaring on the radio was the favorite when I was in Junior High, but when I was a wee lad(hah! I got it that time), nothing signaled the summer season like catching lightning bugs at sunset. Sure the scientific explanation for those glowing fireflies would be: Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism. Its name is a hybrid word, originating from the Greek bios for “living” and the Latinlumen “light”. Bioluminescence is a naturally occurring form of chemiluminescence where energy is released by a chemical reaction in the form of light emission.

But, when I was eight, it was sheer magic. We would run around the yard and cup our hands gently capturing the glowing insects and sometimes we would place a few in a jar thus creating a sort of living lantern. Quite often, it was simply enough to just stand in one place and trace the flight of those tiny insects as their distinctive green glow painted the night time sky.

These days, Summer has very little appeal to me other than as an opportunity to earn enough money to get through Winter. We work 7 days a week here at “Blast” and often until nine o’clock or later. But, the other night, I was standing in my back yard and noticed a few lightning bugs flitting about. For a brief moment, I was eight years old again and Summertime was magical. Had one ventured close enough, I probably would have captured it. Of course, eventually I would have had to let  it go much in the manner that I had to let go of my childhood. Fortunately, that night I learned that fireflies and childhood are two things I may always recapture, if only very briefly.

This guy is much more impressive at night

At least you can pretend to be a 1%er

Yes,  I know the word “board” is supposed to be spelled “bored”, but that is my little play on words for today since I am about to discuss board games. Aren’t I clever?

It has been cold and rainy here in the Northeast for the past couple of days and I can’t help but think back(honestly, If you haven’t noticed, I can’t help but think back no matter the current situation)to those rainy days as a child when we would get a board game out of the closet and pass the time. Monopoly and Parcheesi were popular at our house. I’m not sure why we enjoyed Monopoly, being that the theme was the acquisition of real estate, something about which we, as kids, knew very little. Yet, the tension was quite palpable as we awaited the roll of the dice and hoped to land on Boardwalk or Park Place before one of our competitors seized up these prime properties. Thankfully, the go to jail card was the closest any of us got to the real thing.

Looking at today’s landscape of  video games and sophisticated technology, one would probably surmise that board games did not survive the digital onslaught. Quite the contrary. Here at Blast From The Past we have noticed an increase in the sale of classic board games. Perhaps we are the beneficiaries of rainy summer days and families needing an antidote to the rainy day blahs, but I think nationally board games are doing well. Whatever the reason, it is great to see something remain so popular and so unchanged. I’ll tell you, nothing is more amusing than hearing a fifty something woman squeal like a teen aged girl when she sees the “mystery date” game sitting on our shelf. However, today the date that was deemed the dud would be today’s dream date. I think someone should bring back the comb.

Good Clean Fun

Just got this Mr. Bubble Shaving kit into the store the other day and it really made me smile. Was there ever a kid that didn’t watch their dad shaving and want to give it a try? I remember my dad taking the blade out of his safety razor and smothering my face with shaving cream and letting me pretend shave. I don’t know what it is about wanting to copy your father when you are little, but whatever it was he did you wanted to try it. I wasn’t a big fan of the cigar puff I took when I was eight, however.

I suppose it is the same for moms and daughters, but I’m not really sure. Did little girls pretend shave their legs?

Dandy The Lion Irwin Remco Ideal Marx | eBay.

Now on ebay. My absolute favorite toy as a child. Dandy The Lion was this awesome battery operated lion that would walk and if you struck his chin with the whip he would sit up and roar. Unfortunately my cousin kicked and broke it one day and that was the end. We still have a picture of me standing next to him when I was four.

I wish that everyone could have a memory of their absolute favorite toy from their childhood. It’s kind of a nice feeling. Hey, you know what would be a really nice feeling? If someone reading my blog decided to purchase dandy The Lion for me. It’s only $595.00 and it comes in the box. Any takers? I didn’t think so.

I just finished putting out some new metal lunch boxes at Blast From The Past. They are one of our best selling categories. We sell them to collectors and to kids that still use them to bring their lunch to school. They no longer come with the thermos, however. That’s probably a good thing. How well I remember the tell tale sound of the broken glass liner after dropping my thermos. Since we did not have a cafeteria when I was in grade school, everyone brought their lunch. Metal lunch boxes were quite popular and most were based upon some cartoon or television program, except mine. I had the boring black and red plaid model. I’m guessing the lunch box with Batman on it probably cost a dollar more.

My wife still has her original lunch box and thermos from when she was in school. Her lunch box was images of street signs. How lame is that? Oh, right, plaid lunch box. Darn!