The Puppies' Night of Terror

It's become a tradition to include at least one piece of child's Halloween art each season on my blog. This crayon-colored mimeograph of the month of October fits the bill.

You Can't Take It with You

Wow, that was a long gap, but here I am again, popping up when least expected.  Well, it keeps you on your toes, doesn't it?

This will be a little bit different Garage Sale post in that its about something that didn't come home with me.  But it was something that struck a personal chord and triggered fond memories.

I was at an estate sale this weekend (a particularly good one, I might add, but that will be for later).  As I walked into one of the bedrooms, I immediately noticed the door, or more specifically, what was on it.

Rule the School

With school back in session, it's a good time to review some common sense rules you can apply in your daily life, even if you're not in school.  This ruler lays down the rules.

Zzzoom-it!

I was watching some vintage toy commercials on Youtube a couple weeks ago (I know it's weird, but I do that on occasion) and came across a commercial that brought back a memory.  One I think I had hidden in the recesses of my mind, blocked even, so scarred was I by it.  In my memory, I'm 7 years old and I'm in the basement of a friend's house and he's shooting metal jar lids at me.  You know, those thin ones that come on olive and pickle jars.  He's shooting them from some evil instrument that seems designed for just such a purpose, so efficiently and accurately it lobs them.  One after another they come out like mini death frisbees, and when they connect, man they sting.  I beg him to stop, but he won't.  He keeps shooting them at me, laughing maniacally...OH GOD MAKE IT STOP!

Sorry.  Deep breaths.  I'm okay.  So back the commercial.  After watching this, I finally know what that lid-flinging hell-machine was.  And apparently, it was supposed to be used in fun, not in torture.

The Lost World

I don’t want this post to sound like a typical “in my day” rant of an aging gen-x’er, but…kids these days, am I right?  Sorry, there I go.  Let me start over…

I found this large, plastic dinosaur at an estate sale last weekend.  It's a replica of a Corythosaurus and stands 5 inches tall.

Tom's Book

I found this among a bunch of other papers at an estate sale a couple weeks ago.  It literally had my name on it.

I Am Forever Blowing Bubbles

With the coming of Memorial Day and the official start of summer, I'm reminded of what that meant to me as a child.  First, and foremost of course, was no school. Other benefits included sleeping in, family road trips,watching daytime television, playing in the woods behind our house, swimming in the backyard pool, reading comic books and generally just loafing around.  Inevitably, some portion of the summer would be spent blowing bubbles.  It wasn't something my sister and I did frequently, but at some point during the summer, we would decide it was time.  Sometimes, we even had the store-bought bubbles in the small plastic jar that came with the two-sided wand that would always slide down inside the jar causing you to search in frantic circles in the slippery liquid.  Actually, I believe only one side was meant for blowing, the other for your finger, but frankly, I didn't see a difference in the bubble quality of those blown from either side.

My mother would chase us outside on the patio (no bubbles in the house, they stain the walls!) at which point my father would run us off the patio (no bubbles on the patio, it stains the concrete!)  Once out in the grass, we'd blow bubbles to our heart's content, chasing them, popping them with our fingers, catching them on your tongue and deciding to never try that again because they tasted so awful, and trying to catch them on the wand so we could blow the elusive double bubble.

More often than not, we didn't have the store-bought bubble variety.  My mother convinced us the magic solution was nothing more than soap detergent and water (actually, it also contains glycerin which gives bubbles their elasticity and which is why I could never blow a decent bubble with my mom's concoction.)  But her mixture was effective for bubble blowing pipes where only a frothy mixture was needed.

I found these vintage bubble pipes at a garage sale for a quarter.  It brought back bubble-blown memories of summer.

Can He Swing from a Thread?

While I enjoy going to garage and estate sales for the thrill of the hunt, it's always nice when I can make a little scratch from my finds.   Thinking back to my childhood,  I guess I've always tried to make a buck where I could.

There were the "original" Spider-man stories I sold which were actually one-page typed, worked over retellings of episodes of the 1967 Spider-man cartoon which I watched religiously every day after school.  I sold those for fifty cents each to willing (read gullible) classmates.  Then there were the hand-drawn comic strips featuring my own creations which I would sell for a quarter a piece.  Perhaps I was taking advantage of my classmates, but at least they were getting a deliverable product for their money.

When I found this vintage '70's squirt ring at an estate sale a few months ago, my mind spun back (foreshadowing pun intended) to the 5th grade and an unrealized business venture.

Toy n Joy

When I was little, the trip to the local grocery store or K-Mart wasn't complete without a stop at the bank of vending machines near the front door. It was a rare occasion that my mother gave me a dime or quarter for the encapsulated treasures or gigantic gumballs, but that never stopped me from staring slack-jawed at the possibilities. Later, when I had an allowance, I collected gumball machine prizes. Trolls (similar to the Dammit trolls, but smaller) and superballs are a couple I recall getting weekly.

Those memories came flooding back to me this morning. On my usual garage sale route, I found that the house I had bought the electronic games from was having another sale. I figured I'd stop in and see if there was anything I had missed or if the prices had been slashed.

Stepping inside, I immediately saw this to my right:


and this:



and this:


They were all labeled $10. As I was looking them over for the one in best condition, contemplating the price, one of the hosts of the garage sale came by and said I could have them all for $15. I was pretty sure I could sell at least one of them on eBay and get my money back, so I told him I'd take them.
At home, I was surprised how well they cleaned up; they had been extremely dusty. I noticed one of the machines still had some prizes inside, so after positioning them into the drop slots, I put in a dime and claimed my prize -- 2 $1000 bills! Alas, instead of Grover Cleveland, they sported a deer head. A clear tip-off they weren't legal tender. The vending machine in the first picture is in very good shape and I would imagine it was in the middle of the bank. The second one is a little rougher and has some paint wear. I couldn't find any manufacturer's marks on the last one. It also appears to have been repainted.

Only the red and blue unmarked vending machine had a key, so I opened it up. Inside was a 1965 penny which is probably about right for the era. I thought it was a mistake that there was a penny inside, but after trying, I found it was indeed a penny vending machine. From the inner workings, it appears to have vended loose peanuts or candy -- the kind you'd get a handful of.

The seller had told me the other two didn't have keys, but he thought the locks could be opened with a screw driver. I tried one and sure enough, the lock turned and I was able to remove the front plate. I was happy to find a bunch of vending prizes in a bag inside the machine:


I also noticed on the inside of the coin mechanism:

I wonder if I could still take them up on their offer?

The other vending machine's lock is functional, so the screw driver failed to open it. I wonder how much it would cost to have a key cut for it...

The two Toy n Joy vending machines are both dime vend and made for toy capsules. As you can see, they are made by the L. M. Becker & Co in Appleton, Wisconsin. They are still in business and they are still selling the Toy n Joy vendors and stock. Looking over their inventory there's not much I could buy to make a profit from a dime a piece. I may order some capsules though and fill them with the prizes that came with the machines and whatever else I can find -- I think I still have some of those trolls...