Turtles Were Meant for Fighting

I started this blog 8 years ago. Back then I had this wacky idea to write letters to a fictional family member of mine who I named Cousin Gobo. It was meant for Gobo to actually be the readers of my blog. I wanted everyone to have the feeling I was writing them personally.

So tonight I was going back through my archives, and I re-read some of my crazy stories. I noticed a pattern. The first dozen posts or so I was trying to write stories has if I was experiencing these events for the very first time. These were fun and sometimes very wacky stories. Then somewhere in 2008 my tone changed completely, and I was a very cynical and angry writer. Then the posts to Cousin Gobo was dropped all together with the blog barely being updated for a few years. Finally the blog was reborn with my photo of the day projects. Still Cousin Gobo was missing.

I would like to bring some of the Gobo back.

I am continuously growing, so shall Cousin Gobo. I am going to continue with my photo of the day blog, but sometimes I will post a fun and sometimes very wacky story along with it.


7.28 - Vintage Turtles



Out of curiosity I went into a vintage toy store. I found a lot of toys that I once owned much like this original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

I remember getting this exact toy was I was a young boy. I was a huge TMNT fan with Michaelangelo being my favorite turtle. (I just noticed that his name is spelled wrong. He is suppose to be named after the famous artist Michelangelo. What an awful way to teach kids how to become bad spellers.)

When I received this toy from my mother, I was stunned to actually be holding it. I remember just looking at it. The packaging was so colorful. The Ninja Turtle looks super tough and ready to fight! Everything was so clean and undamaged. I didn't want to open it. It was my prized possession at that exact moment. I didn't want it to get ruined.

My mother thought that maybe I didn't like it because I didn't want to open the box. Nothing could be further from the truth. I love it. I just wanted it to stay safe. She soon convinced me that it would be alright to open it. So I did so as carefully as possible..... at first.

Whenever a 9 year old tries to open any gift it turns into complete carnage. I like to believe I tried to surgically remove Michaelango from his plastic tomb, but I am sure within seconds the anticipation took hold of me and I ripped that box wide open.

I loved that toy. I played with it for countless hours. I wanted to be a Ninja Turtle. I even designed blueprints of my future bedroom to have a manhole that would lead to my Ninja Turtle sewer cave. (True)

Now I am looking at my toy once again. If I kept that $6 turtle in his box, he would be worth $90 today. That is if I sold it. If I had the foresight to keep my toys unopened, I would probably be a poor man with a bunch of unplayed toys and no desire to sell them. That's called hoarding.

So when I become rich and famous like everyone else who wishes the same will happen to them, I am going back to that toy store. I am going to purchase Michaelango once again, and I am going to tear that box wide open. Freeing him from his imprisonment. Then I will give it to another 9 year old who will love it as much as I did. That is ... of course, after I have played with it for a couple of hours.