Earlier today I was thinking about all of the things I miss from my childhood. I’m not only talking about the material things, but also things like services that have become obsolete and games I used to play.
First and foremost, I miss being able to just play for hours on end. Whether it was hockey up at Moeller, kicking a soccer ball at my dad’s garage door (Thank you so much for not once getting pissed at me for doing that by the way), or just jumping on a po-go stick in the front yard. I guess it all boils down to not having any responsibility. All I was accountable for was being happy.
Next, I miss some of the services that were available that are no longer around. Remember when the employee at the counter of your favorite fast food joint used to fill up your beverage for you? I’m not even sure why that doesn’t happen anymore. I would understand if it expedited the service, but it seems like I’m still waiting the same amount of time (or longer) for my #8 as I always have.
Now the material things. I will probably just make a list of things with a brief explanation as to why I miss them. These are in NO particular order, for the record.
1. Wrestling Buddies. What’s not to miss about doing an elbow drop from the couch onto the Macho King’s unnecessarily rigid nose?
2. Cartoons. Lumping them all in one category probably isn’t fair, so I’ll put in a short list of ones that were good to me. X-Men, G.I. Joe, Animaniacs, Tiny Toon Adventures, ThunderCats, Dennis the Menace, Denver the Last Dinosaur, M.A.S.K., Transformers, Smurfs, Snorks, The Real Ghostbusters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Inspector Gadget, Dinosaucers, Silverhawks and Ducktales just to name a few.
3. My Ghostbuster headquarters. It had a pole that had a small platform you could put an action figure on and it would twirl them down. It was pretty sweet. I also had the Ghostbuster’s trap. I was a bad-ass, i know.
4. I never had a Power Wheel growing up, but I always wanted one. They are pretty much the same I guess, but a 27-year-old who owns his own Power Wheel is a little suspect. I could always get one under the guise of it being for my son, but I can’t use that excuse when I get caught riding it without him present.
5. My Big Wheel. I believe it a hand-me-down from my older brother, but even if it wasn’t, it was my primary mode of transportation until I was old enough to ride a 2-wheeler. I miss pedaling that thing so fast that the worn-down plastic wheel (that usually had 3-5 holes in any one that I’ve seen) would make me do a burn-out. I wouldn’t be able to “squeal” the tires again until I was old enough to drive.
Then I thought about my son and how things that I enjoyed as a kid, even things around now, will most likely disappear in his transformation into an adult. Things like cassette tapes and CDs are being replaced by MP3s. VHS and DVDs are being rendered obsolete by DVRs and Blu-ray. Video games with 1, 2, and 3 buttons have been traded in for video games without any controllers necessary thanks to the Kinect. Computers will probably quadruple in computing power while quartering in size.
The thing that really makes this topic funny is that I was daydreaming about all of my childhood things, I got back to the house after watching the Eagles murder the Redskins at a friend’s place, and one of my roommates was watching “X-Men”. He apparently downloaded the entire 5 seasons that show ran onto his Xbox.
Thank you all for reading my first of hopefully many blogs to come. Please leave some feedback if you wish. Even if it’s just a comment stating your favorite cartoon or video game from your childhood.
First and foremost, I miss being able to just play for hours on end. Whether it was hockey up at Moeller, kicking a soccer ball at my dad’s garage door (Thank you so much for not once getting pissed at me for doing that by the way), or just jumping on a po-go stick in the front yard. I guess it all boils down to not having any responsibility. All I was accountable for was being happy.
Next, I miss some of the services that were available that are no longer around. Remember when the employee at the counter of your favorite fast food joint used to fill up your beverage for you? I’m not even sure why that doesn’t happen anymore. I would understand if it expedited the service, but it seems like I’m still waiting the same amount of time (or longer) for my #8 as I always have.
Now the material things. I will probably just make a list of things with a brief explanation as to why I miss them. These are in NO particular order, for the record.
1. Wrestling Buddies. What’s not to miss about doing an elbow drop from the couch onto the Macho King’s unnecessarily rigid nose?
2. Cartoons. Lumping them all in one category probably isn’t fair, so I’ll put in a short list of ones that were good to me. X-Men, G.I. Joe, Animaniacs, Tiny Toon Adventures, ThunderCats, Dennis the Menace, Denver the Last Dinosaur, M.A.S.K., Transformers, Smurfs, Snorks, The Real Ghostbusters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Inspector Gadget, Dinosaucers, Silverhawks and Ducktales just to name a few.
3. My Ghostbuster headquarters. It had a pole that had a small platform you could put an action figure on and it would twirl them down. It was pretty sweet. I also had the Ghostbuster’s trap. I was a bad-ass, i know.
4. I never had a Power Wheel growing up, but I always wanted one. They are pretty much the same I guess, but a 27-year-old who owns his own Power Wheel is a little suspect. I could always get one under the guise of it being for my son, but I can’t use that excuse when I get caught riding it without him present.
5. My Big Wheel. I believe it a hand-me-down from my older brother, but even if it wasn’t, it was my primary mode of transportation until I was old enough to ride a 2-wheeler. I miss pedaling that thing so fast that the worn-down plastic wheel (that usually had 3-5 holes in any one that I’ve seen) would make me do a burn-out. I wouldn’t be able to “squeal” the tires again until I was old enough to drive.
Then I thought about my son and how things that I enjoyed as a kid, even things around now, will most likely disappear in his transformation into an adult. Things like cassette tapes and CDs are being replaced by MP3s. VHS and DVDs are being rendered obsolete by DVRs and Blu-ray. Video games with 1, 2, and 3 buttons have been traded in for video games without any controllers necessary thanks to the Kinect. Computers will probably quadruple in computing power while quartering in size.
The thing that really makes this topic funny is that I was daydreaming about all of my childhood things, I got back to the house after watching the Eagles murder the Redskins at a friend’s place, and one of my roommates was watching “X-Men”. He apparently downloaded the entire 5 seasons that show ran onto his Xbox.
Thank you all for reading my first of hopefully many blogs to come. Please leave some feedback if you wish. Even if it’s just a comment stating your favorite cartoon or video game from your childhood.
