Grab a nice
beverage, get cozy, and settle in for a post that meanders into odd places a
bit more than I thought it would when I began writing it…
I really like documentaries.
I think I first became a fan of documentaries after seeing Ken Burns’ The Civil War many years ago (heck, I
even bought the DVD set). So, not only
have I since watched everything I could get my hands on that Mr. Burns has done
(thanks, Netflix, for helping me accomplish this!) but I also now love watching
all sorts of things by other folks – there’s nothing like watching something
that’s both entertaining and
educational *cue a cheezy, old Saturday-morning “The More You Know” and
“Knowledge is Power” moment*. Honestly,
if I were to ever meet Ken Burns, I’d probably transform from a calm-normal-dude
to giggly-teenage-girl-meeting-some-lame-boy-band…I mean, c’mon, he made the
fucking Dust Bowl interesting! But I
digress…
I’m a life-long Star Wars nerd. My earliest childhood memory goes back
to the day when I first saw Star Wars at
the old Glenwood Theater here in town. I
don’t remember many details (mainly just R2-D2 and C-3PO walking through the
desert, and the Jawa’s), but my mom tells me I sat still for the entire 2 hours
(which apparently was a first for me), wide-eyed the whole time. The following year, the amazing Star Wars universe that had only existed
on screen and in storybook photos opened up and sucked me in as Kenner released
toys(!) from the movie. With these toys
and my imagination, I could now re-create scenes from the movie and create all
sorts of my own amazing adventures!
My first Star Wars toys were received on my 4th
birthday. Additionally, my baby-sitter
was a wizard cake-maker, and for that birthday she created what is still my
all-time favorite cake – a miniature R2-D2!!!
Check out two of my old photos from that glorious day many years ago
(along with my added commentary):
From that moment on, and still to this day really, whenever I see the Star Wars logo, I have a Pavlovian reaction in which my heart rate starts to speed up and I start to sweat just a bit with anticipation and excitement. It’s pretty wild that I still respond in that manner after all these years (although anything Jar-Jar related kills that excitement…stupid, piece of shit Jar-Jar).
So, when I
learned of the upcoming documentary that focuses on the history of Star Wars
toys and the people who have the same life-long appreciation and affection for
them just as I always have – I was just beside myself with anticipation. The name of the documentary is Plastic Galaxy – The Story of Star WarsToys. It was supposed to be released
at the end of September, but they’re still putting the finishing touches on
it. No hurry or worries fellas, as I
like to say – “You don’t rush perfection”…it’ll be ready when it’s ready. Also, as someone who is still trying to
finish the third book in my The Candy Bar Adventures series since 2009 (shameless plug, thank you), I know what
it’s like to miss a release date or two…or three…or four. Anyway, at their website for Plastic Galaxy,
you can watch a great 13-minute preview.
So good! I relate so closely to
the stories these folks are telling.
Star Wars toys (though, since I’m a grown man, they’re now
“collectibles” *ahem*) were a big part of my childhood and they dredge up both
good and bad memories (I will not be
sharing any of the bad memories!).
Now, I don’t
have any of my stuff in display cases like the folks in this documentary, but,
when the urge arises, I can access my stuff from the secured location in which
they reside. One of the things I like to
do is actually rather strange – I freely admit this (but can’t believe I’m
about to admit). You see, the original Kenner
Star Wars action figures had a unique
smell to them that G.I. Joe figures/Transformers/Battlestar Galactica figures/Dukes
of Hazzard figures/He-Man
figures, etc., didn’t have. Star Wars figures had this unique warm,
sun-baked vinyl scent to them that I found rather addictive – addictive
qualities that were on par with the scent of McDonald’s french fries and the
scent of pizza wafting through the Showbiz Pizza arcade. Well, this scent still survives on my old
figures – fyi: I find the scent to be strongest on the legs of the figures for
some reason – and as I’ve gotten older, it has gained some pretty magical
powers.
So, when the
mood strikes me, I like to take out a figure from my ol’ Darth Vader carrying
case…put the legs up against my nose…and inhale deeply like some dorky version
of Dennis Hopper in the movie Blue Velvet. Yeah, it would look a little disturbing if
anyone ever saw me doing this. But wait! Let me explain! This unique scent has the magical ability of
conjuring up old memories and transporting me back in time to various Star Wars-related moments in my
childhood – like I mentioned earlier, some good/some bad. Even weirder though, is how clear I can see
some of those memories play out in my “mind’s eye” as if I’m watching myself in
a movie; and additional scents from those times will then enter my nose out of
nowhere. For example, one time I took a
whiff of a figure, and the next thing I know, I can see my 5-year old self
bugging my mom in the checkout line of the grocery store for a pack of Star Wars trading cards and I can even smell
the bubble gum that they used to put in those packs of cards. Pretty wild!
If that
sounds weird, well then this next one is just batshit crazy. Surely this happens to others and I’m not
just some weirdo, but who knows?
Ok…there is an old song, that 99% of the time when I hear it, triggers a
particular scent in my nose (and accompanying visual memory) so strong that, at
times, becomes overwhelming and headache-inducing.
The song in
question is Abba’s “Mama Mia” (go ahead and laugh, but I’ve always liked Abba –
and yes, I still have a tallywacker and yes, I still like the ladies – so fuck
off) – in particular – the opening guitar riff from that song is what sets this
whole thing off. I can hear other parts
of the song and the whole scenario I’m about to share won’t always happen, but
if I hear that opening guitar riff – watch out!
So, when I hear the opening of the song, my nose will just get flooded
with the scent of this old Avon bubble bath we had from the time when I was a
little kid (my mom was really into Avon back then, so we had a bunch of their
crap). Anyway, that soapy scent will get
super-strong and then I’m transported back in time to about 5/6 years old; it’s
Summer time because I can even feel the semi-cool fan-blown air (we didn’t have
central AC at that time); I’m in the bathtub to get clean and cool off before
bedtime and I’m surrounded by the Avon-scented bubbles. However, the strongest scent isn’t coming
from the bubbles themselves…around that time, whenever I would take a bath, I
would take a little wind-up speedboat and a lime-green see-through water pistol
into the tub with me. I would wind up
the boat, and as it sped around the tub, I would shoot at it with my water gun
(I always found ways to prolong my tub time because I knew it was bedtime right
after – haha!). The plastic water gun
would be filled with the Avon-scented bubble bath water, and that mixture (including the plastic) is
what really produces the overwhelming scent in my nose that at times becomes so
strong that I’ll start to get a headache if I continue listening to the “Mama
Mia” song in its entirety. Very weird.
I’ve tried to
figure out why that song in particular causes the reaction it does, and I’ve
got one theory. After “bath time”, it
was normally “bed time”. Well, a lot of
times, when I jumped into bed, I would power up my little 8-track player that
had my mom’s “Abba: Greatest Hits Volume One” in it; slap on the big earmuff
headphones that swallowed up my head (I sometimes liked to place one of the
earmuffs over my face and pretend I was a WWII fighter pilot or Darth Vader in
his Tie Fighter…just sayin’) and play some wicked air drums to all the songs on
the tape – “Mama Mia” being one of them.
Yeah, we didn’t have a lot of 8-track tapes to choose from – it was either
my mom’s Abba or my sister’s Shaun Cassidy tape (coincidently, hearing his “Da
Doo Run Run” still makes me nauseous…though I’m sure that would happen to
anyone who heard that song. Haha!).
So…yeah…I
just revealed all that. I think I’ll
stop now and get that catscan scheduled.
Anyway, Plastic Galaxy - The Story of Star WarsToys…coming soon to a real galaxy near you!
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