When I was a boy, my favorite toy was G.I. Joe. Ok, actually perhaps my favorite particular toy was my Winnie The Pooh. Everybody's got to have their teddy bear (mine was a general).
Back to the main point, however. My favorite genre of toy was G.I. Joe. I had quite a few. My brother and I would have big G.I. Joe battles that would last for days and never ever had a resolution. But they had lots of building, climaxing action! Also, none of our GI Joes ever died. The bad guys could die, but each GI Joe was a beloved character, and thus was not allowed (being a good guy) to die. This doesn't mean they never suffered bodily harm. On the contrary, they suffered great bodily harm. Consistently. Anyway, I had a medic so they were OK.
They also had to learn to fly, as the plastic bags sometimes failed as parachutes. And they had to learn to live on their own, as sometimes they went over the wall into the hospital parking lot. I remember that one got lost that way forever. Was it Duke? Snake eyes? I have a memory, but it's vague.
Ok, so I'm posting this because I found a jewel of a website! It lists all the GI Joe's (3 3/4") that were ever made. It is a snapshot of my childhood.
Here is my first G.I. Joe ever: Shipwreck. Shipwreck had to have back surgery, and very early on he lost the ability (such an important but flawed ability in these toys) to bend at the waist.
Here is my favorite GI Joe ever: Storm Shadow. He had a cool red backpack with a sword!
Here's my medic: Lifeline. I liked how he had the oxygen mask. Got shot? What you need is an oxygen mask!
I remember that my brother had this one: Crazy Legs. He was, if you read his personal information (I am remembering this from the top of my head) a pianist. You can check to see if I'm right by clicking on the link and poking around.
There're many others in there that I had, but I think these are pretty cool and I don't want to make the post unreadably long. You can also find out how much they're worth now on that site. The good news is that most of them have appreciated. The bad news is that I played with them extensively, probably draining them of all their value. But more good news! That's what toys are for!
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4 comments:
Shoot! Crazy legs was an organist!
The moral of Toy Story 2 was: Play with your toys and use them up so a) your folks have to buy you more and b) the collector-sellers don't make more off them than the distributors.
I wasn't allowed to play with GI Joe, too violent. Explains why I'm now so peacable.
Yeah, he was, and he fit into my toy F15. That was so cool.
And it was Duke that went MIA on an airdrop into the vacant lot that became the parking lot of the hospital. Stupid desert camo.
-bill
That Duke that you lost is worth $27.00 loose with weapons. $85.00 if you'd never opened the pack.
Your second Duke (I think you got another one: Tiger Force Duke) is worth $7.00 out of package.
I can't believe you threw $20 over our back wall.
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