8 toys and activities of your childhood that you can still enjoy as an adult
Shawn Norris
Look, I know it probably isn’t normal, but the same things that made me excited when I was younger still entertain me today. I guess that some activities and people in life just never get old. Some of you will tell me I’m juvenile, while others will tell me that I live a sad and pathetic life. But sometimes it’s re-living the experiences we enjoyed when we were young that help us remember how carefree and fun life can be. I mean that’s the reason some people love having kids so much, right? I’d just rather leave kids out of the equation and enjoy these things on my own.
8 Big Wheel
The Big Wheel was probably the best form of transportation ever invented. It goes big wheels, tanks, and then those little cars the Shriners drive in parades. The Big Wheel was the most fun you could have on three wheels as a kid, and think that statement still holds water today. They make adult sized Big Wheels now, but I just can’t bring myself to get one. If I had other people that liked to drink and race Big Wheels around me I’d totally get one. Unfortunately my friends are all semi-responsible or don’t have the health insurance necessary to really race these babies. But I’d still totally rock one if I lived in a place where others were as juvenile as I.
7 Nintendo
Sure, the video game systems today are unbelievably amazing, but that doesn’t mean some of us don’t long to go back and play the classics from time to time. Games like Zelda and Super Mario Brothers 2 are the games that I grew up on, and sometimes I throw them on and play awhile. I’ve probably lost a boatload of money gambling on RBI Baseball, which, in my opinion, is still the greatest baseball game of all-time. It’s the little things like losing $20 on Frank Viola that sometimes keeps life interesting.
6 A real General Lee
Now I know that the stars and bars aren’t PC, but when I was setting up jumps for my Matchbox General Lee, I was longing for the days when I’d be able to jump bales of hay in my own General. I would be able to run from the police and pull sick doughnuts on the lawn of that neighbor I hate. Unfortunately, at the time, I didn’t exactly understand how off-base the physics of jumping a car over a ravine was–if I tried it today I’d probably end up face down in my steering wheel with “Dixieland” playing until the horn went out… Still want one though. Totally worth it!
5 Moon Bounce
You know you still look at moon bounces and are secretly jealous of the kids that get to take their shoes off and go nuts in these things. At birthday parties kids get all hyped on sugar and start bouncing around like kangaroos on meth until they end up vomiting. The exact same thing happens when you have a moon bounce around 20-somethings with a keg. It’s fun as hell though. I guess some activities just transcend age. And admit it, you know you’ve always wanted to have sex on one of these things…
4 Laser Tag
Laser tag was always fun as a kid because it was pretty much as close to a real gun battle as you could get without someone getting pelted with a BB gun. You had to wear the little vest and you’d run around like you were in the movie Tron while your buddies cheated by trying to cover their reflectors. I actually know a place that is a bar/mini-golf/bowling alley/laser tag arena. It’s exactly what I picture Heaven is like, except with more stoners cowering in the corner mumbling about always getting shot the most. It’s a pretty awesome place because apparently I’m still 12 and still enjoy doing all of those things while drinking.
3 Speak and Spell
Sometimes I get a little too much of the sauce in me and I tend to yell at my television set when football season comes around. That means that occasionally I’ll lose my voice and need something to relay my abstract thought process and complex vernacular to others in my vicinity. Yes, I once used a Speak and Spell to communicate with others one afternoon after a particularly tough football loss. I would mouth, “Do I have to spell it out for you?” as I typed in the letters. Yep, that was probably one of the douchiest things I’ve ever done, but the Steven Hawking voice made it quite entertaining for the first few minutes. I don’t recommend it unless you want to be punched in the face.
2 Snow-Cone Machine
I like snow-cones and cotton candy more than an adult probably should. What can I say, fair food is the sh-t. When I was little I liked getting those multi-colored snow-cones from the Good Humor man. And then when I got to college I realized that snow-cones were good for putting booze in and being able to walk around campus without any “John Q” lawman bothering me. With flavors like Cherry-Strawberry Pass Out and Deep Purple Nightmare (made with Everclear!), they were a big hit at summer parties.
1 Pop-a-Shot
I liked basketball when I was little and I still like it now that I’m big. I got one of these for my basement when I was 12-years-old and I was sinking shots for the next two years. After being only a few feet away for so long, I eventually moved back further from the hoop in order to create a whole different game called “Breaking All the Glassware of Value in the Basement.” I used to clean house playing this at arcades and got copious amounts of tickets for being so good at it. These days I use my pop-a-shot skills to win bar bets at Dave and Busters. Now I can finally start making payments on that clock I broke in ‘91.
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