So let's talk about my friend Matt Durian. I don't think the Durians lived there on Suffolk when we moved in, the more I think about it. In fact it was maybe a year later when they arrived, but either way, Matt and I became fast friends. It was nice having a neighbor right next door who really appreciated G.I. Joe as much as I did. I think of all the toy action figures I owned, I owned the largest number of Joes. I watched the cartoon religiously, and to this day I'm not convinced they were using guns with bullets in that show. I'm pretty sure they were lasers and that's what we adapted when Matt and I played. Just sayin'.
We got together a lot and gathered our figures and prepared for really strategic and intense battles, and the best part was the fact that his dad built him a giant table (much like a train table without the trains) for his G.I. Joes with the USS Flag -that massive aircraft carrier- right in the middle. It was such an impressive set-up and we had so much room for both of us to move around, set up our troops, and just go nuts.
But one time they had a fire. It wasn't much of a fire -if you can say that- inasmuch as it didn't burn the house down, or really even at all. But what did result was basement damage. Where our G.I. Joe table was. I'm not sure how the blaze began, but it destroyed much of their stuff in the basement before they got it under control to the point where they could put it out. Yeah, the Fire Department was called out and we all stood around at like 3 in the morning watching them make sure it was all out. We had a fire hydrant right at the end of our yard, so that was convenient. But, as I said, the table burned and a lot of his G.I. Joes. It was a sad day.
Well, over the next week or so I told my mom just what burned in their basement, and it was some of our favorite toys. My mom suggested I help and I could use my allowance. So, rather than go to the store, I perused our neighborhood garage sales... and there were a ton, I managed to get about a dozen Joe figures for about 10 bucks, and I gave them to Matt. He was very happy and we were back in business. I felt damn good about myself.
Oh, and his dad rebuilt the table. Awesome.
We got together a lot and gathered our figures and prepared for really strategic and intense battles, and the best part was the fact that his dad built him a giant table (much like a train table without the trains) for his G.I. Joes with the USS Flag -that massive aircraft carrier- right in the middle. It was such an impressive set-up and we had so much room for both of us to move around, set up our troops, and just go nuts.
But one time they had a fire. It wasn't much of a fire -if you can say that- inasmuch as it didn't burn the house down, or really even at all. But what did result was basement damage. Where our G.I. Joe table was. I'm not sure how the blaze began, but it destroyed much of their stuff in the basement before they got it under control to the point where they could put it out. Yeah, the Fire Department was called out and we all stood around at like 3 in the morning watching them make sure it was all out. We had a fire hydrant right at the end of our yard, so that was convenient. But, as I said, the table burned and a lot of his G.I. Joes. It was a sad day.
Well, over the next week or so I told my mom just what burned in their basement, and it was some of our favorite toys. My mom suggested I help and I could use my allowance. So, rather than go to the store, I perused our neighborhood garage sales... and there were a ton, I managed to get about a dozen Joe figures for about 10 bucks, and I gave them to Matt. He was very happy and we were back in business. I felt damn good about myself.
Oh, and his dad rebuilt the table. Awesome.
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