Goodbye to my biggest fan
Normally I wouldn’t trouble folks with my personal
life but if there was anyone that is a foundation for this site, it was my
grandmother who passed away this week at 91 years of age. She (and of course, my parents) is largely
responsible for why I look backward with fondness.
I was fortunate enough to read her eulogy and was glad
to share with people how much she meant to me and my family but I had to leave
a lot out.
to share with people how much she meant to me and my family but I had to leave
a lot out.
Today would have been her 92nd birthday and I’m going to spend it celebrating many of the things she did that made me
want to create this site in the first place:
want to create this site in the first place:
- My grandparents owned a store in a mall, almost every
Saturday I was babysat there. I spent the majority of the day going from the Woolco,
to the hobby shop and then to the drug store to ogle the rack toys. My grandmother
was usually good for $2, which was completely pissed away on what she would call
“Junk”.
- She kept old catalogs in her house and if she traveled
to another country, she would bring me back their toy catalogs. It was kind of
a weird torture looking at Big Jims and GI Joes that I would never own. It did
however spark my interest in foreign toys, is anyone seeing a connection here?
- In college, when I was forced to sell my toy
collection, she arranged the purchase of my two favourite MIB Mego figures
(Spider-Man and Captain America) and gave them back to me years later. I still have
them, I will never sell them.
- On my sixth birthday, she left me in the Eaton’s toy
department and told me to pick out one thing for my birthday. I spent what felt
like an eternity pouring over the GI joe and Big Jim offerings. More than the
toy itself (i forget what I chose), I appreciated just being given that luxury of time.
- When I was 13 she knitted me a Tom Baker scarf, she
also sewed me a Jon Pertwee cape that I wore to my first convention a year
later. I still have both, I never wear them.
- She bought me my first issue of Starlog and more
comics than I care to calculate.
- My first Ramones record? You guessed it, it was Road to Ruin.
- Christmas was incredible event at her house, some of
my fondest childhood memories stem from those evenings.
- When I got the Brick Mantooth figures in from China,
she was the first person I showed. She approved but thought it was bad investment and well,
the lady wasn’t dumb.
- I filmed the Brick Mantooth commercial in her
impossibly funky basement.
- She owned one of these and now, I do I guess….
- Rack Toys is still proudly on her coffee table.
- She always told me the truth, even I wasn’t going to like it and could present it in a manner that I couldn’t get mad at her.
She was my enabler and I can’t look at the majority of the
things I blog about and not think of her. That will always make me smile and
one of the reasons I’ll keep going and will be just fine. I love what I do
because she loved me.
things I blog about and not think of her. That will always make me smile and
one of the reasons I’ll keep going and will be just fine. I love what I do
because she loved me.
Thank you for indulging me.
Sorry to hear that, but that was a great post.
The carpet and the ship on the cabinet/TV/whatever. Whoa.
A great tribute to a great lady. Sorry for your loss.
This blog has always had a tremendous amount of soul, and now I know were a lot of it came from. She bought your MIB figures and then gave them back to you year later? That's awesome.
What a lovely post. Thank-you for sharing this. Such terrific memories.
So sorry. Thank God for your wonderful grandmother. She sounds just amazing. And thank you for this consistently funny and interesting site!
Thank you for sharing that with your readers. You were very blessed to have such a wonderful person in your life.
So sorry for your loss- those were such beautiful memories! Rest in peace to your biggest fan!
I'm sorry for your loss; my grandmother passed two days before Christmas 2013 and I still can't believe she's gone. Your grandma sounds like a really wonderful lady and I believe she would be proud of you for continuing the blog! I love reading what you write about, so as long as you post, I will read! 🙂
Canuck Reader,
Sorry for your loss. Losing someone important is hard. Peace, look after yourself in the coming weeks.
Later.
My condolences friend…
Sorry for your loss, man.
So sorry for your loss! She sounds like a wonderful person and helped you create such great memories!
{{HUGS}}
Sorry for your loss. In remember you had mentioned her in some of the podcast.
Those who leave are never completely gone, of course, and it sounds as though you're fortunate to have so much left behind. Your work here is much appreciated and enjoyed, and it's good to know where your passion/obsession/disease came from. Condolences to you and your family.
Thank you everyone for being so kind, I am grateful.
@Armpit Studios, I was recently in the basement with my dad who when he saw that boat yelled "Mine" and immediately put it in his car, much to the chagrin of my mother….
I enjoyed reading your tribute. You made your grandmother proud, I'm sure.
I really enjoyed that you could share your tribute and life with her. It made me think of so many things I thought of as a kid in the '70s which brought me back to such a good place inside. I appreciate that glimpse of each moment in time you expressed. Peace to all…
Condolences Brian. Thank you for sharing those memories.
P.S. Congrats and Lucky win yesterday for Canada. U.S. will win it tonight! I hope….. 😉