|
Post by Siren on Nov 29, 2011 22:37:01 GMT -6
I knew a guy who bought/restored/resold VW Bugs, too. He said they were so easy to work on, it made for quick, easy money. I have seen some truly ancient ones tooling around town, driven by college kids. Those cars do seem to be almost indestructible. I even heard of a guy whose daughter poured soda into the radiator, and the car STILL rolled on!
LOL! Our Drivers Ed. teacher had an imaginary brake pedal, too!
RE: best/favorite childhood toy - do bikes count? I put many a mile on my little blue bike, and, later, on my yellow one, and, later, on my red 10-speed. But I was blessed with several outstanding toys - my GI Joe Headquarters (ooooo, I wish I still had that!)...my "Big Jim" dune buggy. Jim was an action figure who could flex his muscles and karate chop. A very cool dude....my Dorothy Hamill doll...my "Six Million Dollar Man" and "Bionic Woman" dolls. And a couple I received as an adult: my "Barbie as Wonder Woman" doll...my Barbie & Ken "X-Files" dolls...my Xena doll, a gift from my niece.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Dec 1, 2011 7:47:37 GMT -6
Of course bikes count! A bike is what I had in mind too as my favorite "toy". As an adult, I spend a lot of time on my bike, and would be upset not to have one.....which is why "my" bike now was actually once LX's. Even after her bike was stolen and retrieved, she borrowed mine because she lent hers to a friend. She left mine unlocked at the beach, and surprise, surprise, 3 hours later it was missing. Knowing I'd be p!ssed (an understatement, especially since I paid to get hers back), she turned over her beloved silver and black Schwinn to me without a word, (a much better bike than mine anyway).
A bike now is an alternative form of transportation - a way to run quick errands around town, and a great way to get exercise. But a bike as a kid means one thing - Freedom! My favorite all-time, most memorable bike was the one I had when I was about six or seven. It was a "real" bike - my first without training wheels, and not one of those miniature bikes that little kids ride. A hand-me down from my cousin, my Dad fixed it up with a new banana seat, painted it deep purple, and polished the sissy bar all shiny new. I named it Leapin' Lizard, and I'm not sure why, but it was a name that wasn't any worse than what my friend named her bike - "Hot Rod Lincoln". Dang, we went everywhere on those bikes that summer - even places we weren't supposed to go, like "the Field" and "the Creek". Funny, we gave our bikes such imaginative names, but the places we spent the most time on them had such generic ones.
Worst toy? Definitely a Barbie. Not my Barbie, but LX's; she was very young, probably not even school-age yet. It was a talking Barbie given to her as a gift by somebody (obviously somebody without children; Moms never give other Moms' children toys that talk, beep, ding, or make noise of any sort). LX loved it, and took it everywhere. One day, she decided Talking Barbie needed to go swimming in a puddle on driveway. Whatever made Barbie talk didn't like getting wet - Talking Barbie turned into Demonic Barbie Speaking Gibberish. It put that clown doll in the postal service commercial to shame. The thing was horrible - a perfect imitation of Linda Blair in "The Exorcist", and I mentioned in another thread how much I hated that movie. What made the demonic voice even worse, is that it would turn on by itself. One night, up by myself watching T.V., it started speaking gibberish from across the room in the toy box. I think I beat the thing to death before taking it outside and throwing it in the trash.
|
|
|
Post by stepper on Dec 3, 2011 9:38:40 GMT -6
I’ve tried to narrow things to a ‘best’, but there isn’t one. What I remember best is family coming to our house for dinner. So, what Christmas present do I remember? Well, like many other firsts that would occur and would somehow remain with me, there’s my first bicycle. I remember waking up and there it was in front of the tree – this gleaming red wonder with white pin striping. (And training wheels - but they only lasted a few minutes.) I remember not a single other present from that year although I’m certain there were others. (I ALWAYS got clothing and like Ralphie and his brother in A Christmas Story they weren’t quite what I was anticipating. But I didn’t fling it/them over my head.) The next thing I can recall is riding that cycle in the street in front of the house, and not being prepared to stop. I had go and go faster pretty much figured out, but heading back toward my house was ever so slightly down hill which meant the terrain would not help me stop. I wasn’t accustomed to moving my feet backwards to invoke the pedal brakes so of course, on Christmas Day, I used a neighbors’ bumper to end the forward progress of my new found mobility. And put a dent in the front wheel guard. It was the only accident I ever had on a bicycle. Worst present was actually presents that I gave. See, my parents were divorced and my father promptly remarried and had two more children. Now, dad had quite a sense of humor and had perpetually threatened to purchase shot guns for any children we might have – and no one of was sure if he was kidding or not. But, while both of his kids from round two were still quite young my brothers and I all conspired to make sure they all had a memorable Christmas. Bro got a complete drum set with extra drum sticks, and after an exhaustive search I finally found a Laugh Machine. It was a pouch in which was hidden a battery operated ‘player’ for lack of a better description that, as soon as you touched it, laughed. Loudly. For a minute or two. At first it was funny but after the fourth time only children still found it funny. I gave that to sis along with extra batteries. And in case they got bored with that, I also gave them a 500 piece puzzle to share because as we can all appreciate, children share things so well. BOLL! Love the Barbie story Phalon! Siren - you had a G. I. Joe? And it was a favorite? I need to actually meet you some day.
|
|
|
Post by quettalee on Dec 3, 2011 20:57:05 GMT -6
I had the Lone Ranger collection of action figures...Silver, Tonto, and Scout!
I always got guns, holsters, a cowboy hat, and new boots! They were probably my favorite present every year. I got my first BB gun on my 7th birthday. The first bird I killed was enough to break me of shooting at living things. I cried for three days over that bird.
My first bike was blue with white pin stripes. I got it the same year my two nephews got one...on Christmas. At that time all we had was dirt roads to ride on...sandy dirt roads, so riding a bike sometimes took a second to riding a tractor or a horse. Hard to pedal in that loose, dry, Georgia sand.
Now I have my Xena collection, carefully packed away in the garage. And a couple of Rosie ODonnell dolls.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Dec 4, 2011 8:17:36 GMT -6
It's one of those family stories that don't die (unlike, fortunately, Demonic Barbie did).
Speaking of evil....
That's pure evil, Stepper!!
Oh, oh, oh....remember those G.I. Joes with Kung Fu Grip?! My brother had one, and I thought dang, my Barbies don't do anything but stand there looking unnatural. Barbie left Ken for Joe and they lived happily ever-after in the sandbox in the backyard....
That was another favorite toy-like thing we had - the sandbox. It wasn't one of those plastic store-bought things; Dad made it by digging into the ground, probably at least five feet so it seemed bottomless, and was extra long and wide too - big enough to bury a kid in, like at the beach. Or big enough to bury Barbie and G.I. Joe with Kung Fu grip, because they mysteriously disappeared and were never found like so many other toys that made it into the sandbox.
I remember once there was a photo of you around here somewhere, riding a pony. I think you might have had on the hat and boots too. Very cute.
|
|
|
Post by stepper on Dec 4, 2011 10:29:17 GMT -6
And?? Well, maybe, but it was fun too!
|
|
|
Post by Siren on Dec 4, 2011 23:46:20 GMT -6
Yes, indeed, Q. I had GI Joes, and loved them dearly. Like Phalon's dolls, our Barbies and Joes paired up.
We tried to have a sandbox, Gams, but the cats thought it was a LITTERbox, and our mom made us quit playing in it.
Step, I think a lot of kids took their maiden voyage on a bike before they had learned to brake. But poor you!
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Jan 1, 2012 7:14:46 GMT -6
People magazine does it; Time does too. So why not? We're people, and I've got a bit of time right now. The Best of Whoosh 2011 Best New Word: "Hogans Wotnots", provided by Moonglum and Vox Best New Recipe That I Actually Tried: "Sista Q's It's the Sh!t Chicken Salad" Best Family Dinners: Siren's, hands down. Best Typo: "we're about thirty five minutes into 1012" by Katina. Q's "bowel of soup" was a close runner up, but was disqualified at the last minute because I couldn't remember if it was actually Q who wrote it, or what exactly was in the "bowel". Best Avatar Changer Mind Reader: Joxie (psst...are you reading my mind now?) Best Finish by a Sport's Team: for the third year in a row, Katina's Cats Best Sport's Thread Post: Lola's description of Katina's Cats finish. Made me want to sing that song too. Best Finish to a Post: Q's "Peace, love, & tunage!!! " Best Whoosh Yearbook Photo Caption: "Phalon: Most likely to spend an inordinate amount of time in a cemetery" provided by Stepper. Hhmmm...maybe this should have been titled "Most Memorable Whoosh Moments of 2011", because at the moment, and with my short-term memory, this is about all I can remember.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Jan 1, 2012 7:16:54 GMT -6
OMG!!!! LMAO! I hadn't even noticed. You read my mind before I even thought it! D@mn, you're good.
|
|
|
Post by stepper on Jan 1, 2012 21:09:10 GMT -6
It's so conspicuous by its absence this must be addressed - a 'best' for Phalon.
Best use of humor: 'Oh, and then there's this one. I'm calling it "Irony". '
|
|
|
Post by Siren on Jan 2, 2012 0:18:30 GMT -6
Thank you for the annual recap, Gams! You always do a great job.
Best Whoosh "Title" (the description beneath your name) - Phalon: Bard-Seer That's our Gams. Only I would call her Seer-Bard, since she is more aware than most of what goes on in her world, the big and small things, and takes the time to document it for the rest of us.
Thank you for taking the time, Gams. I appreciate you. ~T
|
|
|
Post by quettalee on Jan 2, 2012 3:29:27 GMT -6
And... "Best Battle of the Sexes Banter Since Bobby & Billie Jean" to Phalon and Stepper. That was some of my favorite stuff ever! And... "Best Defense of Favorite Cartoon Characters" to Stepper of the Peanuts Gang. Everyone gets the blue...
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Jan 2, 2012 17:24:25 GMT -6
Whew! For a minute there I was at a loss as to which avatar you were thinking about.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Jan 3, 2012 7:36:05 GMT -6
Ah, yes. "Irony", "The Battle of the Sexes" - fun times, fun times. Or at least, "The Battle of the Sexes" was fun; LX would probably disagree about the "Irony" bit.
Thanks, Siren. (Blush) What a nice compliment, (or is it complement? I guess I'm homophonaphobic. I always get them confused and am afraid of using the wrong one).
Q's right....everyone here is a blue ribbon person.
|
|