Action Figures

I have a wad of 2o dollar bills on my dresser. It staggers the mind how many action figures I could buy with that money, if only I were eight again. When I was eight, every time I got a bit of money I would go to Target and buy an action figure. Usually it was "Star Wars", occasionally it was some other random thing that looked cool at the time.

I was just thinking about why I don't get action figures any more. Their are a couple reasons I can think of:

1) I'm saving up my money for something big (like a wife)

2) I just don't have the imagination

That second reason is the one that really intrigues me. Why can't the proverbial grown ups, twenty-somethings, and teenagers play with action figures? I'll tell you - it's not because we are too old, it is because we are not young enough. We've been thrust out of the land of Narnia and black suits guard the entrance.

You can actually see it happening slowly. When kids are really young, all they need is one action figure for a good dialogue, and two for a war. Then they need the bigger sets with the plastic bushes and whatever else helps out the scenery. Finally, they need something that moves. Oh, I don't know. . . robots (Lego makes "robots" now you know).

I really wish I could go back to the point where I can play with Playmobil the way that Ben does. He goes up there and he fights wars. He actually fights along with his men. He has a whole army of Playmobil guys, but only one of them represents him. This guy is the leader, and his name is Nadar (for whatever reason Ben really likes this name). I think most kids set up their guys and make them kill each other (that's how I did it anyway; I was ruthless). But for Ben, it's like he's one of them. Of course, this is the one character that never dies. All the projectiles just seem to miss him.