Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: FiLtH on December 14, 2006, 12:22:03 AM
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Thirty years ago, right about this time of December, my little brother and I would spend hours gazing at the Sears Wishbook. Not sure if they still have that but it was a catalog of toys and electronics, some clothes I guess...yuck..that came out in the Fall back when I was young.
The pages would be all dog-earred and markers would circle the pics of the toys we wanted Santa to bring. I'd literally get sick to my stomach over the excitement by Christmas Eve.
Thinking back, some of the toys would have been...
Verti-Bird
Six Million Dollar Man Doll and Venus Probe Vehicle
Guns of Navarone army playset
This little airfield that looked like a Pacific island base with little blue foam corsairs (Baa Baa Blacksheep was big then)
Stretch Armstrong
Big Jim (Another doll that had vehicles and when you flexed his arm his muscle showed....sounds gay now :P)
GI Joe (12" figures) The sub and squid, the Yeti and ski adventure stuff
Slot car sets
Trains ( Lionel)
Models
Toy guns (Before the orange muzzle)
BB guns
Lots of stuff. Fun thinking back to what made me so excited back then.
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I remember scouring both Sears and Monkey Wards catalogs. Montgomery Wards had much cooler stuff like mini-bikes.
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http://www.peterhirschberg.com/vertisim/index.html
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RPM..thats why we looked at Sears..we were too PO to get mini bikes. Those were for the kids who could afford Levis, Nikes, and soap.
Sandman..thats pretty much it..my first was very basic though. We eventually got the fire rescue and the police one too.
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I remember having something similar to the verti bird. Can't remember what it was called though. It had an airplane on the end and you cranked it by hand to turn the prop.
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Originally posted by FiLtH
RPM..thats why we looked at Sears..we were too PO to get mini bikes. Those were for the kids who could afford Levis, Nikes, and soap.
LOL, who said we could get them? That was a wishbook!!
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loved those catalouges...do they still make them?
ooooooooh...there went a nice one....and another....
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Probably the only book my mom could get me to read at that age. And even then it had tons of pictures, minimal reading needed.
Those were the days.
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I remember that book. Spent many an hour drooling over those pages
Thats when Sears was still "THE" store
When I was a kid you could even do your food shopping a Sears
With each purchace you would get a bunch of S&H GreenStamps
Collect enough of them and you could trade em in for stuff.
I remember my parents getting me my first fishing pole that way...From Sears
If you look into the history of Sears. Its pretty sad what its become.
At one time no matter what you wanted. You could get it from Sears
From Clothing to a new house. You could get it from Sears
Now....
Now now its a classic case example of. If you want to run a buisness into the ground. put the bean counters in charge
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I averted my eyes at the womens' underwear section.
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Originally posted by FiLtH
Thirty years ago, right about this time of December, my little brother and I would spend hours gazing at the Sears Wishbook.
Are you sure is was the Sears Wishbook (http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_186.html)??? :D
Seriously, found memories myself of my sisters and I dog-earing that catalog come November.
Things I remember from Christmas day:
GI Joes, Erector sets, electric trains, "Invisible Ink", Whirlybirds game, Thingmaker that made "Creepy Crawlers".
http://pic4.picturetrail.com:80/VOL767/2726312/14205248/212601772.jpg
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Filth I remember doing that with the Sears wishbook. And now, I am sitting there with my children circling what they want for Christmas.
I even circled a few things for the wife to buy me:aok
Our shopping was done early this year because we get the wishbook in the fall, shop online, and have it delivered.
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Originally posted by FiLtH
Thinking back, some of the toys would have been...
Blah
Blah
Blah
Blah
BB guns
Lots of stuff. Fun thinking back to what made me so excited back then.
You're gonna put your eye out kid.
(http://www.galenfrysinger.ws/movies/christmas_story.jpg)
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sears was bought by kmart.
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toys toys and more toys.... I remember that book. I also remember some of my favorites and my most wanted.
the Major Mason space toys, MMM Space Station, crawler, Astro Trac
My GI Joes (the big ones) I always wanted the jet and the tank, but never got them.
Johnny West cowboy and horse
Capt Maddox
My Daisy Red Ryder bb gun
The Big Jim action sets, I had the Rescue Rig and my brother got the RV
the Hot Wheels and tracks
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Originally posted by Rolex
I averted my eyes at the womens' underwear section.
Me too... over and over again.
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Originally posted by FiLtH
Verti-Bird
My absolute favorite toy when I was a kid. I have a new one I found in KB-Toys a few years ago, though it's not called a Verti-Bird anymore. It's great watching my kids have as much fun with it as I did.
Keep your eyes peeled, you can still find them from time to time.
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I remember one GI JOE figure I think it was called Mike Powers. He was GI JOE's answer to the bionic man. Except he had one bionic leg and one regular leg. I always pictured him hopping at top speed while his normal leg dragged behind him.
Ahh yes..the ladies section. I knew once I lost interest in the back of the book, and found the front more interesting, my life was changing.
Rip..I remember that story. :)
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One of my earliest child hood memories about Christmas inviolved Sears.
They were a downtown store, before strip malls were invented, and like the rest of downtown decorated to the max. The streets had all kinds of decorations, trees and garlands all over the place. Sears moved their regular display at the front window and put in a Christmas one. It had all kinds of moving figures and at least 2 electric trains going all the time. They ahd BB guns and bicycles prominently displayed either in the center or to one side while the girls toys were to the other side. Inside the store, they had a small wing that was deicated to nothing but toys. There was a huge 6 to 8 track train set that they put up every year and I spent hours watching them go by wishing I could play with them.
Sigh, Christmas no longer has that fresh excitement for me any more but watching the Grandkids that morning is priceless.
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Toys 'R' Us sends out the holiday catalog around the last week of October I believe is when he got it. When I was a kid we had to circle the whooole friggin picture for our parents, now these kids have little boxes they can just check:mad:
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Originally posted by john9001
sears was bought by kmart.
Yea I know. Stopped in Kmark to pick up a couple pair of pants for work and noticed they now sell Craftsman tools now too.
But their demise started years and years ago.
Its been at least 25 years since sears was any good and its only gottn worse since
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Here ya go
1979 Sears Wishbook (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wishbook/sets/1360453/)
And on EBay now for $24 you can own the
1972 Sears Christmas Wishbook (http://cgi.ebay.com/1972-SEARS-WISH-BOOK-FOR-CHRISTMAS-VERY-NICE_W0QQitemZ160063232447QQihZ006QQcategoryZ118259QQcmdZViewItem)
(http://i24.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/7e/e2/7d18_1.JPG)
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1963 was a bad year. We were dirt poor. Went to bed hungry many nights... School provided milk and cookies, sometimes. At home if you had a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sammich you ate half and hid the rest under yer pillow...later at night I'd split the sammich into thirds between my Sister and Lil Brother... they ate their whole sammich earlier. I was the older Brother..Had to take care of them.
So poor I had to jump neighbors fences and snatch empty pop bottles 5am dam near every morning to gather enough money to help keep the electricity on. Learned to out run dogs then. 5 cents a big bottle, a penny for a small bottle.
That Year I had my wagon repainted, for Christmas, my lil Brother was still young so we went to the Fire Deptment to beg for milk for him. They gave milk and at that time I always wanted to be a Fireman...Heros. My Sister just had tubes put in her ears then.. She could finally hear again.
Dad was laid off from Libby Glass and we suffered. Christmas Dinner was Corned Beef and Hash, diced canned peaches and we had candles lit to save electricity. It was very cold.
It wasn't my Dads fault nor my Moms. It was the economy, Prez Kennedy dead, Cold War fears...
I swore when I was young if I ever became a Father and had a Family I would do everything to give them a better life than what I had endured.
Now that I am a Father I push education hard... My children don't always understand YET...except for the oldest now... She had a Presidential and Congressional appointment to USMA (West Point) turned it down at the last minute to attend OU now she's at Baylor Medical in Houston. My youngest Daughter is into Journalism and at 18 has her first News article posted in the Tulsa World newspaper. My Son wants to attend the USAF Academy...he's still 8 Years old...subject to change when lil girls become interesting..LOL.
I'm just a Proud Father. I just buried my Father at Arlington Natl Cem in October..this is the 1st Christmas without him...now I'm rambling on..
I just want to say to all..take time to love all of those around you that care and make a difference in your life, and those that you have made a difference in their lives. AOL Keyword: LOVE LOL
Merry Christmas to All,
Mac & Family
Yes Virginia...
I shot down Shane in a Yak.
:D
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Originally posted by FiLtH
Verti-Bird
Man, now I know you're old!!!! That was my all time favorite toy as a kid!
Originally posted by ChickenHawk
Keep your eyes peeled, you can still find them from time to time.
Tower Hobbies generally has a reasonable facsimile of 'em around this time of year.
P.S. Sears still has a wishbook, my three kids had hours of fun marking one up this year, good times :)
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wishbook was ok ... but we drooled over the spring edition w/ swimsuits
you know the yellow pages double for TP when needed while walking 5 miles in sub zero temps in bare feet home from school.
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I wanted to check in because my dad reminded me about the verti bird while we were perusing the Discovery Store at the airport.
The first one is here (http://shopping.discovery.com/product-60691.html?rel_productId=60106)
The second is here (http://shopping.discovery.com/product-60106.html)
AJust in case you guys want to re live your childhood or if you want to see your kids get as excited as you were.
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Vertibird simulator for Windows (http://www.peterhirschberg.com/vertisim/index.html)
So it's a flightsim of a...flightsim.
Cool!!!!!
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I remember the vertibird. Mine lasted about two days before the rotating cable seized. Was fun while it lasted. While the vertibird simulator looks cool, it is nothing compared to http://www.realflight.com/. The helicopters there are a hoot (no guns tho).
Put me down as one more with a fascination for the Sears Catalog ladies underwear section.
Regards,
Malta
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That game is too hard, were they really that damn fast?
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Originally posted by stantond
Sears Catalog ladies underwear section.
ahh, the memories. :D
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Originally posted by john9001
ahh, the mamories. :D
Fixed :p :D
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Parents bought my first bass guitar and amp at a Sears in Columbus, OH. Wish I still had that bass. But 20 years later I didn't think I'd still be playing bass as a career :)