A long time ago in... Orlando.
Now I'm almost out of money, my plan was to head over to Naples (about 3 hrs West of Miami), Florida to see my Dad's mate John, who can hopefully get me some work so I do don't have to go home. I checked out the flights from Vegas and found it was actually about half the price to fly to Orlando and get a Greyhound South, rather than fly direct into Miami.
Which worked out great as my neighbours Aunty Jean and Uncle Stephen, (you know i've only ever called them that on the site?) were on holiday there. My plan was to turn up in Orlando, book into a hostel then say 'Surprise!' that night as I met up with them at a restaurant somewhere.
As it was, I got to Orlando after my night-flight having not had much sleep (I forgot about the time difference and lost 3 hrs) and found the hostel I was going to book into was shut for the season, and as the answer phone helpfully informed me "there is no other hostel or budget accommodation in the area."
Figuring I couldn't afford a private room in one of the tourist capitals of the world, I phoned up Steve about 9am and said "Surprise!" and "Help!" They let me kip on the floor of the room for a couple nights which was good. Especially as they were staying at The Sheraton!
We went to one of the toy shops on International Drive which had a full size X-Wing on the ceiling, as well as a cool Star Wars section with tons of toys... er.. I mean, franchised memorabilia....
After that we went to Downtown Disney, a huge Disney themed shopping centre. I bought them a chocolate brownie ice-cream Sunday as a little thanks for letting me stay with them.
Me and Steve spent ages in the LEGO shop playing with all the bricks they had laid out for people at least half our age to play with. While I was in Vegas, Dad and Vicki said it was like Disney World for grown-ups. To be honest I prefer being a grownup in Disney World. Disney makes no apologies about trying to be a magical, wholesome place aimed at kids; which it manages fantastically. Vegas seemed to try pretend it was a magical, joyful place aimed at adults which I think, they failed at. The lights blink like that because of all the poor saps that don't know when to stop.
I'd seen a couple of the shops selling really cool mini-manga like Star Wars characters and knew that even though I was out of cash I had to have them! (Thanks Control Room friends - I used some of the travelers cheques.) Excluding alcohol and once-in-a-lifetime experiences, its been a long time since i've spent money on something that I didn't really need.
With these babies though, I had an excuse. One of the very few things I regret in my life stems from a lesson about 'money' from my Mum and Dad. This little exercise is probably one of the main contributors to my Leftie, anti-capitalist leaning in life.
It was a simple premise. Sell all those old toys that you haven't played with for a while and use the money to buy some new ones. At a local Car Boot sale, an eagle eyed collector bought all my Star Wars vehicles, the X-wing, the Snow Speeder, the AT-AT and AT-ST, the Millennium Falcon with detachable chess board and hole at the front Yoda could fit in... All those figures, Luke, Han and Leia in all the different uniforms, each imperial trooper, most of the ewoks, the major characters, the minor characters, the droids that were only in it for a fleeting second... Everything.
All of it was sold for - I believe it was £12 for all the vehicles and £8 for the figures. I probably spent the money on one of those dancing flowers with the shoes and sunglasses, I really don't remember. Its not the exceedingly high cash value of that many Star Wars items now, if I had them, they'd be a priceless part of my childhood. A token of what Star Wars once was. Before Jar-Jar Binks. Before it all turned crap.
That's why when I saw these, I knew I could hopefully put the ghosts of my past to rest. Cool Japanese-esqe micro-representations of my original childhood heroes. I didn't know how much they were as they were displayed in glass cabinets, it had to be expensive though...
$12 for the X-Wing, Luke, Vader and R2.
I forgot that small and funky isn't just for the realms of super hip Japanese future sci-fi Manga comics and cartoons. Kids like it too. These are the PlaySkool Star Wars figures for ages 3+. Woo-Hoo! I'm more than old enough to play with them :)
...And I'm not the only one. Steve bought an $80 one-third size R2-D2 which patrols the house and gets upset if you don't talk to it and give it attention! Apparently you can also programme it to go to the fridge and get you a beer!
Thanks Aunty Jean and Uncle Stephen for looking after me while I was in Disney World. I got on my Greyhound bus on time and arrived safely in Naples. And thanks for taking my toys home to Mummy and Daddy. I hope you enjoyed the rest of your holiday. As for you and anyone else reading this, remember;
The force will be with you... Always.