Whenever I see a toy I had or wanted when I was a kid, I feel a pang of regret that I don’t have it now.
I still wish I had my Inchworm, and not because I wish my daughter could play with it… I just want to look at it through a misty haze of memories and think how great it was to grow up in the 70s…
And there’s this Wizard of Oz set that they have on display at the Please Touch Museum
I take a picture of it every time I go… I had this whole set, and a quick google shows that you can get it for 169.99 pounds on ebay. Where did it end up? A yard sale? Salvation Army?
This weekend, we were organizing our storage closet, and I realized that I actually have some pretty great toys from my chilhood, and that I shouldn’t lament the fact that I no longer have my Inchworm or my red Panasonic tape recorder.
Some of the gems include:
Hickory Hedgehog and Duffy the Cat, whom I met at Reading Hospital when I had my tonsils out– Duffy the first time in 1981, Hickory the second time, in 1983. Aren’t they the sweetest?
The Wham-O Magic Window. I don’t really know what it does, but it sure is cool!
A goody box…
including… an incomplete set of Return of the Jedi cards and stickers
I am 98% sure if we continue organizing the closet I will find a COMPLETE set of E.T.cards from Topps.
This Big Bird postal carrier wasn’t my toy… we bought this for my grandfather as a gift– he had been a mailman. Now it’s one of Lilia’s toys.
I thought I had more Smurfs, but here is an aerial view of the fifteen I found in the shoebox… and one unicorn, or course.
My viewmaster collection:
The viewer isn’t as old as some of the disks, because I remember buying it either in middle or high school. It is still old, because it says “Made in the USA”. I bet new ones aren’t made in the USA now! Maybe I bought it when I got this great Michael Jackson Thriller set on Viewmaster:
My Keymonica (I didn’t find this in the closet– this was already donated to Lilia’s toys a while ago, but it is my original 70s toy and sounds great!):
And the Fisher-Price Movie Viewer:
The box only had this Sesame Street Numbers tape, but I’m sure I have more somewhere…
And one last retro item that isn’t something I just found, but I think it fits with this post…
My small collection of Warner Brothers character glasses!
Well, I hope you enjoyed my walk down memory lane. What are some toys you wish you still had? What are some toys you are glad you still have? I look at Lilia’s toys and besides the stuffed animals, I just don’t see how her toys will last another few years, let alone over 30… Do you think any of today’s toys will be coveted in 35 years on ebay?
