A co-worker asked me, yesterday, if I had a G.I. Joe when I was a kid.
It was a great question – and well-timed – because I had been thinking of some Santa visits of yesteryear. His question reminded me of some of the great Christmas gifts I received during my childhood.
Santa always hit a home run when it came to filling up the area under our tree with great gifts on Christmas morning. Kudos to my parents for providing proper guidance to the Jolly Ol’ Elf over the years. And, indeed, the year I got the full-size G.I. Joe (with associated foot locker) was one of the best.
I specifically remember a Christmas gathering at the Gary family farm that year. I took Joe with me and showed him off. I played with my cousins in the large, warm and comfy family room. We enjoyed many family visits, in that place, over the years. My cousins were duly impressed with Santa’s gift.
Because of the placement of our house in Memphis, G.I. Joe had a number of great places to seek adventure.
We had a sandbox out back, so he often ‘took a beachhead.’ The back yard also sloped. So, often Joe – and his colleagues – climbed the hill to achieve their mission. And, it wasn’t out of the question to find G.I. Joe scaling the lower rungs of my dad’s radio tower on a specific mission.
In addition to Joe, I recalled a number of other great Santa gifts (and later, when my parents fully took over as keepers of the list, they kept it going). In fact, I can’t think of one single item that I really wanted but didn’t get.
Talk about a wealth of riches.
Some of my favorite gifts include some I’ve recently discussed in past blogs, including:
Big Jim and his pal Big Jack
Various NFL games, including Electric Football
An orange Allied Van Lines toy truck
And much much more.
There was always an assortment NFL sweatshirts that I was proud to wear to school. I also received team-oriented pajamas and coats. Maybe it was the time of year, but NFL merchandise was much more readily available than compared to all the other sports.
My sister would probably agree when I say my folks – and Santa – always did Christmas right! So as much as this particular posting on Coach Jeff’s Blog is a tribute to one of my favorite childhood toys, GI Joe, it is really moreso a tribute to loving parents who went out of their way to make a number of wonderful Christmas memories.
JG
Editor’s Note – Speaking of Christmas, as you know, the big day is coming up soon. The arrival of Christmas, here, on Coach Jeff’s Blog also means we are coming close to our special, two-part “Top Gary Stories of 2013.” Look for a special Sunday edition of the blog on December 22 featuring Part I. Part II will follow the next day. Lots of fun to look back at a great and interesting 2013! I hope you will be sure to check out the blogs those days as we celebrate the year.
Originally posted 12/12/2013
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