nostalgic I learned this week that Tom Wilson is funny. But he's also an artist! His paintings almost all feature icons of my childhood:
| balsa wood rubber band propeller airplanes | had many |
| Frisbees | had a few |
| Spirograph | had one |
| Life (board game by Milton Bradley) | had it, played it with my family, now play it with my own kids |
| Tonka trucks | had some |
| Easy Bake Oven | sister had one |
| Hands Down game | played it |
| Schwinn Sting Ray bikes | sister and I each had one |
| Battleship | had it, played it, now play it with my kids |
| Viewmaster | had one |
| Popsickles | ate them |
| G.I. Joe | had more than one |
| Table Hockey | played it |
| squirt guns | had many |
| Duncan yo-yos | had one and learned many tricks |
| Twister | had it and played it |
| Rock'Em Sock'Em Robots | played with it at friends' houses |
| Hot Wheels loop the loop | had one |
| Little League baseball | played for several years |
| electric football | had one (favorite team was Oakland Raiders) |
That got me thinking of other influences from my childhood. Do you remember Johnny Quest? What did his dad do? What was his best friend's name? Where was his friend from? What kind of pet did he have? What was the pet's name? What was his body guard's name? (Don't add comments answering these questions. I already know all the answers. :) He was the perfect hero for a geeky kid like me.
I remember growing up watching Happy Days. It was set in the time when my parents grew up. And now my kids are watching reruns of That Seventies Show. I hated the Seventies. Life didn't really start for me until after Ronald Reagan became President. I'm not saying that Alex Keaton was my hero. But now as I look back, he could have been.