Yours truly finally grew up from being 8 years old to about
15 years old. In what was a shocking move, yours truly gave away almost all his
G.I.Joe and He-Man action figure collection of some 15 odd years away.
Hold on! Rewind! You mean a 27 year old still had his entire
G.I.Joe and other action figure collection?
Yup, what is said above is true. This 27 year old still
clung on to his action figure collection…..until today that is. And those of
you who do watch ‘Big Bang Theory’ would know that there is nothing wrong with
grown men collecting action figures. And if you do like the TV series and still
think I’m weird…I’ve got two words for you…..blaaaaaaady hypocrite. For those
of you who know me personally, and happen to follow this blog, would know that
this is a big deal….almost as big as Aishwarya Rai having a baby. (For that
almost never happens these days….am I the only one who feels sorry for the
other grandkids that Big B has from Swetha Bachhan? We don’t even hear of
them.)
Anyway, the house is being painted this year, something that
happens once a decade. So, I was cleaning out the loft and came across some old
photos of when I was a kid. The parental unit had given me an almost perfect
childhood. Great toys, a good education from good schools, instilled good
habits and morals, showed me all the great places in the world aka Disneyland.
And I will admit that this whole grown-up business is not going as planned. I’m
still staying with my parents, have a job that isn’t financially pleasing, have
not been abroad anywhere seeing the world, not in a relationship, have done
nothing substantial with my life. So maybe I was clinging on to all these
action figures because they reminded me of a simpler time. A time when life was
good, a time when I would wake up in the morning and not go,” Oh crap, I have
to get to work”, a time when I didn’t understand that the world was an unfair
and mean place and you never get what you want.
But I think it is time to move on, it’s time I stop clinging
on to childhood memories. It is time to make space for all new ones. And even
if it means I’ll never be a part of a great band, or have that great job which
sends to fancy places to work, drive that fancy car, be with the person you’re
supposed to be and all that, at least going forward I know that whatever I make
of life will be mine. And there is some joy in trying by yourself and not have
dear mummy and daddy give it to you.
I kept a few of the action figures, just for namesake and
gave away the rest to my maid’s kid who I hear thinks I’m a God of some sort
and treasures any of the clothes we send across. Maybe my action figures have found
a nice home. It was like the ending of ‘Toy Story 3’ which I frickin wept
through. While these guys have been my best friends for almost 15 years and
have travelled the globe with me, I think it’s time they went to somebody else.
It’s time I make room for new things in my life. It’s time to start opening up
spaces. I did spend a good 2 hours creating all those kiddish situations in my
head where Cobra Commander created a monster that was causing havoc, so while
G.I.Joe were saving the innocent town folks from the monster, Cobra were busy
stealing nuclear warheads to sell. And oh my god did those two hours more than make
up for my weekend and the sucky week of work.
So here is to my action figures that are going to give some
other kid a part of the awesome world of imagination that I had growing up…. Thank
you for being there. And no matter what other people say, I am here partly because
of all the awesome stories you guys and I made together, far off places, future
worlds, monsters and so much more. Now go and make some other kid happy.
Goodbye dear friends….and the best way I can repay you guys
is to ensure that if I ever come down to having a tyke of my own, he/she gets
enough of you guys to run away to great worlds and make great stories. And here's the ending of 'Toy Story 3' for all those who have/had action figures and had to part with them.
PS: The PS3 remains….. I still have my Batman, Darth Vader and Harry Potter action figures. And my Lego set.....i could not let go of Lego. Joke...get it??!?!
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