At the same time I began to reflect about events, people and ideas that were game-changing for me. I began to write a post and found that the ideas I was playing with couldn't be contained in a shot post. This reflection explains a lot when I walk into my man room.
At the time I was well stocked on ERTL farm toys and he was well stocked on pretty much everything else. Matt had a lot of older siblings and they had left all of their toys for him as they grew out of them. I was the oldest and I only had what my parents and grandparents were willing to buy. Rainy days were spent reading his old Hulk comics and digging in this massive bag of Hot Wheels. Sunny days were spent taking our Tonka trucks and some of my tractors down to the creek to play on the sandbars. There was one toy apart from others that we both began to collect with a passion.
In 1982 Hasbro changed the game with toys. They had a failing franchise called GI Joe that was meant to be a "Barbie Doll" for boys. Lots of adults remember the 60's and 70's GI Joe dolls from playing with them as they grew up until the 70's and the unpopularity of the Vietnam war stifled sales to the point where Hasbro needed to relaunch. In 1982 when I was finally old enough to pedal around the corner to see Matt Hasbro did something incredible. They launched a toy line and then launched a series of commercials and a cartoon series that gave a back story to the toy.
How did this change me? For the first time I didn't view Saturday morning cartoons as optional. Tom and Jerry weren't that funny anymore. With each new episode of GI Joe I would get up at 6:00 AM Saturdays often before my parents to sneak in the living room and watch Transformers and GI Joe before my sister could get up and make me change the channel. Matt and I would get together around 9 each Saturday and break down the story, often reenacting it with our 3.5 inch figures on the aforementioned sand bar.
Dad and Mom bought a VCR for the first time around 1986 so they could watch movies from the local video store. I was getting to old for GI Joe but I still purchased figures whenever my $3 allowance accumulated enough and I could find a new character that I wanted. Remember this was pre-internet and I had to go to the grocery store every Thursday to buy my GI Joe comic book as it came out each month. New figures of GI Joe were like scouting gold as Matt and I would share notes about where we found them. He favored Zayres or Hills and I favored Ben Franklin and Service Merchandise.
GI Joe and Hasbro screwed up. They were losing toy share to the newcomers like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and sought to revamp the line. In 1988 they started using bright neon colors for figures and the comic stories began to get convoluted and hard to follow as the company favored introducing bunches of new figures over character development. No one could keep up on an allowance of $3. I had also discovered other things I would desire. The toy could no longer compete in my eyes it was in decline. Blame it on a number of things but this little boy decided it was time to grow up. All of my figures went into an old tackle box and were shoved to the back of the closet.
Why did I choose this as a game changer? Imagination, creativity and an introduction to technology all came during these formative years. GI Joe led me to become an avid reader of Sci FI and fantasy, fiction of all types. Movies, comics, and more fed my imagination as Matt and I let our imaginations run wild in the woods behind the house. Programming a VCR led me to an aptitude for gadgets and technology that still resonates. If there is ever one things I can say may have been a failure on my part it might have been being ashamed of these "nerdy" things. Even now 35 years later I have my Joes carefully restored and preserved yet hidden away. I am not ashamed but have found it best not let a date see that side of me until I get to know her a little better.
Who knew a couple dollars of plastic, a few pulp comics and a thirty minute product placement show could encourage me to some of the ideas and thoughts I have today. I watched my little girl play with her Paw Patrol and Jake and the Neverland Pirates figures last night. I hope I never make her feel like she is to old for those toys. She tells vast stories to no one in particular as she plays. If she uses even a tiny bit of the imagination I am watching develop now she will be incredible. Those toys certainly changed me and I hope they help her.