Saturday, February 21, 2009

a boy's toy

No I never had a Jeep pedal car. My childhood friend Mark Condra had one. His little jeep had not been used in a very long time, but the family still had a place for it in their garage down on Red Oak Road. I had never seen a new one of these, but I remember thinking they were the coolest pedal car ever made. What is it with me and the Willis? I've never owned one - but I sure wish that I did. I don't want a CJ - I want a vehicle that date backs to big one - the more bullet holes the better. Maybe one of these days I'll own one.
When I was a kid, my favorite toy was the G.I. Joe 5 Star Combat Jeep. I wanted that thing so bad that I asked Santa 3 years straight for it before I actually got one. I would get everything else G.I. Joe from Christmas to Christmas - but no Jeep. I remember getting a G.I. Joe Space Capsule one Christmas. It was pretty cool but I couldn't really fight Nazi's with it...that is unless I pretended my G.I. Joes maneuvered themselves into The Twilight Zone. Capt. Roger Blastoff, NASA astronaut finds his ship being pulled into a strange black hole...only to exit and re-enter Earth's atmosphere during World War 2! Yes, I did that kind of imagineering. What I wanted and hoped for was a G.I. Joe 5 Star Freaking Combat Jeep! I preferred my pretend warfare to be a bit more realistic - this side of The Twilight Zone.
I love those old Willis jeeps. I don't know why - maybe it's because I was weaned shows like Combat!, Gallant Men, and Twelve O'clock High. Anytime a war movie came on television, I was there in front of the screen with my surplus helmet on - ready for business.

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