All I want for Christmas is...

…Optimus Prime.

When I was around five or six, I desperately wanted Transformer toys. Transformers were one of my favorite cartoon shows. Unlike most of the other cartoons I watched, the toys made for this show were actually interesting. My parents managed to get me a few of the lesser known characters as they were cheaper but I wanted the big daddy of them all. I wanted Optimus Prime.

My earliest “evil” thought that I can remember deals with this toy. Sigsbee Elementary was behind my house and across a canal that I had to cross via a foot bridge. Although there were two parks at either end of my block, the school had the best equipment. So when I could, I went over there. I remember this kid who was playing with Optimus Prime along the wooden railway. It was in truck mode and he was making it go back and forth on his wheels. He had to be a kindergartener, which was a year younger than I. I watched him carefully making note that occasionally, he would leave Optimus behind for a few minutes to go run to his mom for whatever reason. I had decided that if the opportunity presented itself, I was going to steal his toy. It didn’t happen. That kid probably didn’t realize how fortunate he was.

Once I got a job and could actually afford an Optimus Prime toy, they had moved on to Beast Wars. Sorry, but only First Generation Transformers were the only ones acceptable. Never saw any until the other day when I went with Season to Toys R Us. I hadn’t been there in years but I separated myself from her to see if they had any Star Trek models. Instead I ran into Optimus Prime and practically pissed my pants with excitement. Then I nearly cried when I saw the price tag: $90. Three times more expensive than when I wanted it when I was a kid and definitely out of my budget.

One of these days…