Saturday, July 14, 2012

My Nostalgic Memory - 100 Toy Soldier Set

My Nostalgic Memory....


From Superman, DC Comics, c1964



100 durable plastic soldiers, tanks, jeeps, jets, and ships??!!  No way!  Yes, it was true. 

I, like many young boys, carefully squeezed my name and address on the undersized order form.  This week's allowance was placed in an envelope and carefully sealed.  I hand-delivered it to our postman....And then I waited.  For 6-8 agonizing weeks, I waited.  When the dreams of epic battles in the privacy of my own bedroom began to wither and fade, it finally came.  Coming home from school, there, at last, sticking out of the mailbox, was a flat cardboard box.  My name was on it!  Like Spiderman slinging a web, I yanked the package from the mailbox and bounced off to my room.   I opened the "footlocker"/mailing package and inside a plastic bag were 100 (yes, I counted them) durable plastic soldiers, tanks, jeeps, jets...and ships, each approximately 1/4" in size.
The battles that were fought and won over the next several months, were many.  I was not disappointed at all with my collection.  As I recall, this was one of the last toys I ever enjoyed.  I was at that age when a boy was expected to put the toys away and pursue more grown up interests to avoid being teased; or so my older brother informed me-- if not quite so politely.  With this knowledge in mind, and since we shared a bedroom, I found that the compact size of my soldier footlocker was perfect for hiding away a few remaining boyhood dreams.

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