Why we collect toys

                    So I was born on a sunny afternoon on May 8th 1981. I had the normal childhood, pretty good actually, with two loving parents, and even a little brother to pick on.I guess I was what you would call "middle-class" all the way. Anyway, growing up, I had all kinds of toys. From Transformers and G.I Joe, to M.A.S.K. and He-Man. I remember fondly sitting in front of our only tv( which was only 27"s btw) on Saturday mornings with a big bowl of cereal, a gallon of milk, my spoon, and of course my toys; to watch my favorite cartoons and play along. Week after week, I would sit there and pretend that I was in another world. One with transforming robots, elite government military agents, and superheroes. Heck, there was even the occasional sword of power,lol.

                     While watching these shows, I would break out my toys, and play like there was no tomorrow. My dad always worked on Saturday mornings, and my mom was always busy cleaning, talking on the phone,and what not, so it gave me alot of idle time to spend with my favorite tv shows. Now the cartoons were great, but the real fun, was in the toys.You could basically play with them anywhere, at anytime. My dad, after a long days worth of work, would always come home during the week and change the channel to The Peoples Court with Judge Whompner, and me not being a fan of the justice system at the time, would have to go find something else to do. So I played with my toys. I had a pretty vivid imagination back then, so I would come up with all kinds of scenarios that I could make these pieces of plastic act out. You know, like the world was coming to an end, and Optimus Prime had to save all the puny lego people from disaster, because the M.A.S.K. team was on vacation, and He Man couldn't find his sword. Or like when Scarlett had been kidnapped by Megatron, and The Ninja Turtles were the only ones who had a vehicle to get to them.Okay, okay, you get it. I had alot of fun. Now my parents were not rich, but they did buy me alot of toys. They didn't spoil me, but they sure came close.

                     Now my fondest memory of Christmas, has to the one I got the entire toy lineup of the SuperPowers. Superman, Batman, the Flash, if you know which ones I am talking about. Anywho, I was probably about six or seven, and remember vividly that morning waking up to more presents than I could imagine. Now my brother had not been born yet, so I was still the baby, and got everything. Gee, he really messed it up for me. Just kidding. So there I was, unwrapping this monsterous amount of toys left and right with no end in sight, when all of a sudden my eyes caught the attention of the coolest bike I had ever seen. Turns out, it was a He Man bicycle that I had seen at Wal-mart a few weeks before, and after begging and pleading was sure that Santa was not going to bring me. They sure had me fooled. Well, the bike was awsome. I remember that my grandparents had come by, and they spent the rest of the morning trying to teach me how to ride this amazing machine. Its funny, but I'm 28 now, and for some reason that was one of the best Christmases I ever had. I can still see everything perfectly, and can even smell the rubber off the bicycle tires.

                     Then I got older. I started worrying about clothes,and what I looked like, and of course girls. Needless to say, the toys kind of fell by the wayside, and it would be years before I picked up another one. Now after highschool, I had gotten a job, got married, had kids, the normal adult stuff, and picked up several hobbies along the way. Working on cars, a dvd collection, music, stuff like that. Never thought of collecting toys. That was until my kids starting getting old enough to play with similar things that I had as a kid.One day at a toy store, walking through the toy isle with my oldest son, I saw a transformer that reminded me of one I had back in the day. I pulled if off the shelf, bent down, and began explaining everything to him. The one I used to have, how it looked like it, and so on. He wasn't very old, so he just sat there and stared at me wide eyed with his hands up in the air waiting on me to give it to him. I handed it to him after looking over it, with no intention of buying, and we went about our way. We walked around for a while until we met up with my wife, and we then proceeded to the checkout line. She had a buggy full of stuff. We were expecting a new baby, so you can imagine. After getting everything out of the buggy to checkout, I noticed that my 3 year old still had the transformer toy in his hands. I though about it for a moment, and well it is pretty neat, and I guess I could save it for him for when he's older, so I tossed it on the conveyer belt not thinking much of it.So, after a long day of shopping we finally arrived home, and began unloading. After everything was put away, my wife came up to me with this transformer toy, and asked me what it was. I began to tell her the same story I had told my 3 year old, and at the end, she looked at me with a blank stare, and just muttered ok, and walked away.I sat there with the toy in my hand wondering what to do with it. Should I open it? Should I just put it in the attic for a future Christmas, or...? Well if you havent figured it out yet, it got opened.

                        But the funny thing is, I didnt just open a toy. I opened my childhood. I know it sounds weird, but stay with me here.Sitting there looking and playing with that transformer, I had these flashbacks of my childhood. Ever have a really good memory of something that just makes you feel good inside? Well for me, those memories do. Like I said before, I had a really wonderful childhood, and it always makes me happy thinking of it. Now honestly I had not really thought of my own childhood for years, simply because I was so involved with my day to day activities, that I guess I just didn't have the time.So there I was, toy in hand, and a big goofy grin on my face. People, it was all down hill after that. I began to get this crazy idea that I would get similar toys to the ones I had as a kid, and give them to my children when they were old enough. I thought that they would maybe have as much fun as I did. Or at least that was the plan.Well it didn't quite work out that way. What started as a collection for my kids, quickly turned into a collection for me. I began buying up everything I could get my hands on. Thousands of dollars later, I had no more room to put them, and they basically all ended up in a storage shed in the backyard.My addictive personality aside, I think the real reason I collected, was not for my kids, or because they were cool peices of plastic, but that everytime I opened a new one, I was transported back to my childhood.

                       When we as humans find things that make us feel good, we tend to collect or consume as much as we possibly can.Now toys are by far not the wierdest things to collect, but they're up there. Then again my wife collects dishes, and how crazy is that? But that's why I collect. And I'm pretty sure if you got the honest truth from most collectors out there, they would agree. We collect these tiny things on blister packs because they take us back to a time when life was simpler, and the world was not so dark. When we still had imagination, and nothing was impossible. When I was a kid I dfidn't have a care in the world, and you know what, I liked it! I had the potential to do anything, and thats something that we should all get back in touch with. I know it sounds cheesy, but it's the truth. Next time your in a toy isle with your kids, stop and take a look at what they are wanting you to buy. You would be surprised to see how similar the stuff they want is to the things you played with as a kid. And if you take a closer look, you might even find yourself thinking about that one Christmas where you got that one toy, that no matter where you went, it followed. I guarantee you'll smile, and the world will look a little less bleak.

                      So ladies and gentlememn, thats why we collect toys. It's not because we're weird, or strange. Or that we were weren't loved as a child, or never grew up. We collect because we remember our childhood, and we enjoyed it And we're not afraid to show the world that you don't always have to be a grown up. In the end I charge you to find your own toys. Find whatever it is that reminds you of your childhood, and collect it. Whether it be buying that old type of car that your dad used to drive you around in and fixing it up, or wearing that type of perfume that reminds you of your mother. Or heaven forbid, a massive collections of dishes my wifes mother used when she was growing up. Whatever it is, collect it. Let it make you smile, and don't let anyone ever tell you to stop living in the past...just make sure to be mindful of the future. Till next time...