Christmas seemed simpler as a child. When mom and dad would ask us kids what we wanted for Christmas, we’d usually said something like, “a bike, or a game or some cool tennis shoes.”
Today, when I’m asked what I want for Christmas I can’t help but think big. Let’s see, how about a roof rack for my Jeep? Or, what about a 65” flat-screen TV for the living room?
Or a new iphone?
Why is it I want such grandiose things all the time? Didn’t I learn anything from growing up in a family of 10?
Hmmm...Maybe that’s the reason...LOL.
As a child, I never cared nor took into consideration my parent’s financial situation. All I focused on was me, me, me and want, want, want.
My parents, I can truthfully say, did an amazing job giving us kids great gifts over the years despite my dad working tirelessly at his job and my mom keeping the home tidy and all our bellies fed. At times, I would feel cheated whenever I’d see a brother get Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em Robots while I’d get a Hot Wheels car or a pair of socks or underwear and not the bike I requested.
But, when I look back and see the sacrifices mom and dad made — I quickly learned to appreciate all they did for us kids all those years.
I remember one particular Christmas in the Winter of 1971 where I begged and begged and begged my parents to get me an Action Jackson action figure. I’d seen the commercials where they’d show this rugged action figure seeking bold adventure as a cowboy, an astronaut and even a man on safari.
For all the years I asked for a bike and never got one, this Christmas in 1971 became the Christmas where I realized dreams and wishes can come true. Not only did my parents come through for me with an Action Jackson action figure, but they also bought me the jungle safari outfit featuring a walkie-talkie, canteen and tiny alligator.
Even more astonishing was when I realized my little brother Brian — who was a red-haired six-year-old — had received an Action Jackson as well — in reddish/blonde-colored plastic hair! Incredible!
I can still picture my brother and I having such fun times “walking” our AJ’s up the stairs, hiding them in mom’s planters and taking them for a swim in the bathtub.
That Christmas in 1971 will forever stand out as one of the most important Christmas days of my life.
A simple gesture by my parents at the cost of probably $14 per doll and outfit gave my brother and me a joy that in all my adult years has failed to compare.
Also, that action figure did more than just become a toy to me. That action figure opened a whole world to me as I began living my life through this eight-inch action figure (think Toy Story). When he (Action Jackson) took to the slopes on his white skis in his white outfit and machine gun — I imagined it was me being that “James Bond” type of guy looking to save the pretty girl or overcome the enemy.
Or, when I had him (AJ) wade into the puddle and the alligator emerged to bite his leg, I recalled how Johnny Quest would handle the situation and I immediately transported myself into AJ and eluded trouble with a dive in the tall grass.
Or, when I had him (AJ) mount the Jeep in his military uniform, I’d imagine how my dad would have handled things heading straight into danger as a hero Marine fighting the Japanese in WWII.
Through my Action Jackson, I became the bold adventurer. I considered myself a deep thinker and awkwardly shy around adults but after playing with AJ, I overcame my “clodhoppingness” and felt a new aplomb about myself. It may sound silly, but my interaction with that “toy” was — I guess — a form of therapy I didn’t realize I needed.
And little did my parents realize the therapeutic effect that $7 action figure had on me and my brother either. Little did they know also that by me grabbing that box that contained my Action Jackson and opening the present — the present actually opened me.
Merry Christmas everyone! Hope everyone gets just what they dreamed!
