When I was ten years old, I got an amazing Christmas gift!
It was a “Six Million Dollar Man” action figure (I want to clarify, it wasn’t a doll, boys have action figures. It was a fully posable, totally manly action figure…NOT a doll).
AND…
It was AWESOME.
It had some mind blowing special features, you could roll up the skin on his arm and look at his bionic parts (okay, that seems a little gross now, but then it was very cool and cutting edge toy stuff). You could also look through the back of his head through a slightly wonky looking eye and see in “bionic vision”. He wore a standard issued red track suit with matching rubber sneakers. There was a lever on his back that lifted his arm and actually picked up really heavy things, like the plastic toy engine block that was included in the package.
The thing that makes it even more special was that it was the only gift that my Dad ever actually picked out and wrapped for me. Mom usually took care of the gift getting and giving. She was good at it, she found creative ways to stretch the budget and make memories. But, in December 1975 she had a surgery that slowed down her Santa duties. So, Dad had to step up. He SERIOUSLY hated crowds and shopping. So he had to summon all the retail courage he could muster and go to the TG&Y store to get this coveted gift for his oldest son.
It was a big deal.
It was one of my favorite toys EVER!
I had many imagination fueled adventures with my six million dollar friend.
But, in the course of childhood, REAL toys get played with. They get torn up and thrown out. They go on one too many adventures, buried in the mud or they get blown up with firecrackers.
Steve Austin crashed and burned.
I thought the Six Million Dollar Man was a goner.
But, it turns out that…
“We can regift him. We have the technology. We can make him better. Better…stronger…faster.”
30 years after my first bionic buddy, on a brisk Texas Christmas morning, I got another one! My super amazing wife, Diana, had the technology to make it happen. She went on eBay and found a second Steve Austin action figure! He had the same wonky eye, same red track suit! He is in my office today.
It is AWESOME!!
I’ve heard it said that you can’t go back.
I think you can, and it can be better.
I think you can regift a memory.
AND, you can make it better…stronger…faster.
carbonated joy 