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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience?
I had trouble figuring out how I was going to respond to this question,
though I knew for sure that I wanted to do so. My problem was that I don't
have a blockbuster LEGO experience that would make other people say, "wow,
that's cool." I've never won a LEGO-related contest, or been on TV showing
off my models, or been the one millionth visitor to one of the theme
parks... the list goes on.
So, I tried to just focus on LEGO-related memories. Maybe there was a
moment in there somewhere that would qualify as cool. Now to preface this,
you have to understand that by nature I'm a rather absent minded person. I
often can't recall why it is that I hung the dog's lease on the hook
intended for my car keys, and vice versa. I'm terrible with names and can't
often remember if I worked with a person, or knew them from school or ever
knew them at all. But there are a few moments in my life that stand out as
clear strong memories.
I remember the moment I first saw the woman who would become my wife. I
remember the very first time I saw Star Wars in 1977. I have fond memories
of the day I met my first celebrity.(1) Sadly, I know where I was when I
found out that the shuttle had blown up. Happily, I remember the first time
I got to drive my '76 Cutlass that I loved so much. There are a few more,
but these ones stand out in my mind.
When it comes to LEGO I realized that I had two distinct memories that fit
into this category of firsts. They were nearly a quarter century apart, but
were so linked that I almost consider them to be the same moment, just
shared over the course of 20+ years.
The first moment is Christmas morning around 1975 or 76. As was tradition
in our house, we opened small gifts found in our Christmas stocking, before
heading for the big stuff under the tree. I can see my hands now as I
pulled the little LEGO police car (set #611) out of the red stocking. The
sound of the bricks rattling about in the small box resonates in my head to
this very day. That was the moment that a new LEGO fan was born.
Fast forward to 1998. Things have changed quite a bit. I'm working in
Stratford, ON and just days away from moving there permanently. But at the
moment, I'm in a Zellers store in London, ON. Truth be told, I'm on the
prowl for HotWheels cars. I wasn't an obsessive collector, rather I just
bought the ones that interested me. I happened upon the LEGO isle; for what
reason I don't know. And there was a 1200 piece anniversary tub for only
$19.99. I instantly forgot about HotWheels cars and picked up the tub. The
rattle was the same. A LEGO fan was reborn.
I bought the tub that day thinking that I would just use it to build a few
things in my spare time and perhaps one day get all of my childhood LEGO
together. I guess that moment, combined with the one from the mid-seventies
had a bigger effect than just that. I bought more and more tubs, buckets
and whatever sets I could afford. My collection grows to this day, though
strangely I no longer buy HotWheels cars. :)
And when I pick up a handful of LEGO bricks I still listen for that
distinctive rattle. There must be something Pavlovian about the particular
clatter that LEGO bricks make. For each time I hear it I relive my favorite
LEGO moment(s).
All the best,
Allan B.
(1) Curious star watchers might be interested to know that my first
celebrity meeting was none other than Ernie Coombs - a.k.a. Mr. Dressup. I
was lucky enough to have him eat dinner at our house one night sometime in
the late 1970's during a between-show break back when he toured with his
live act.
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Coolest LEGO Experience?
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| Inspired by John's post ((URL) I would love to throw out a question! What is your coolest LEGO Experience? Maybe you built an amazing castle when you were eight years old. Or perhaps you've had a more recent experience like watching an FLL robotics (...) (22 years ago, 6-Dec-02, to lugnet.general, lugnet.people) !!
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