4/14/11

Mystery Solved.

Remember a few posts ago, I told you that I received a strange but interesting package from someone in the military who is apparently stationed in Israel? Well, it turns out it was actually intended for me after all.

About 3 months ago, I stumbled on an old action figure in my basement. The figure was called "Erik the Viking." I can't remember if he belonged to me or The Snitch, but I had no emotional attachment to him, since I was more of a Major Matt Mason / GI Joe kind of guy. Unfortunately for Erik, for reasons that are known only to the long-dead executives at Marx Toys, he was sort of an unmanly teal color, so I never played with him much. I didn't have any of the rest of the set, and he really didn't go with the Johnny West and his Indian sidekick. Never bring a viking sword to a gun fight, I always say. And never fight wearing teal.

Here he is on my kitchen counter with his (and I quote) Mighty Viking Horse {tm}:


The other thing that made Erik sort of unappealing to me was his Mighty Viking Haircut. He rocked a pretty serious pageboy:


We did sort of have that haircut in common, now that I think about it:


Anyway, to make a long story boring, I posted Erik up on e-Bay, where he sat, neglected for six days. On the seventh day, he received a bid. He was now worth approximately $3.00. And that was with his horse. So the auction ended, and I contacted the winner because the shipping was going to be twice as much as the merchandise, and I wanted to make sure he was OK with that. The address was to a military base, and so I asked him which branch he was in. He didn't really tell me specifically I don't think -- he just said he had a collection of Marx action figures back at home, and wanted to have a couple with him as a little reminder that real life was waiting out there somewhere.

I thought that was awesome, so I told him that I was sending Erik out as a gift, and throwing in a copy of my book as well, just to thank him for his service. Then I promptly forgot about it -- until today, when I logged into e-bay and saw his name on my list of shipped items and recognized it.

Since there was no note inside the package I received, I am assuming it was sort of a "thank you" for sending the stuff out. That's pretty cool, if you ask me.

Also, when I was looking for that pageboy picture of me, I found another picture of The Snitch, Houdini and me when we were in that whiteboy rap group that one time:



The next Mexico post is about half way done... hopefully I'll finish it up Friday if I don't have a dirty martini and fall asleep.

Word.

14 comments:

  1. My Viking ancestors are totally humiliated. If Erik had a beard, I'd swear he was Amish.

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  2. That's kind of cool. You have a new friend - one who likes sending you videos about Jesus.

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  3. Well, damn, JV, that's MY HORSE! I am a certified, dyed-in-the-wool, 100% horse-crazy adult who was the same way in childhood (practically since birth, actually - see my blog), and I had/have a large collection of model horses. I was especially fond of my Marx horses, one of whom actually had jointed legs. This horse I called "Butterscotch" and he came with not a Viking, but a Western rider. I believe his name was Johnny-Something as a matter of fact! Anyway, I no longer have Butterscotch. My brothers liked the Marx horses with the Western gear, too, and we were hard on all of it (my favorite thing was the buckboard wagon. I'd love to get my hands on one of them again). I think poor Butterscotch might have undergone euthanasia after suffering several broken legs (i.e., Mom stuffed him in the trash can when we weren't looking).
    Personally, I think Erik is kind of a hottie, bowl haircut and all... I would have been all over that. :-)

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  4. marianne, they should be humiliated. He looked like he was straight out of a monty python skit.

    GSE, I think he may have sent me the video because he read my book and figured I needed it. At least he didn't send the ashes of the book back.

    Rider, his name was Johnny West, and I had him too. He had a full camp - frying pans and coffee pots, rifles hats, vests, etc. He was also brown, and not teal. And he had a man's haircut.

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  5. That is really cool of you to send it to him for free, and for him reciprocating. Awesome!

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  6. Julie3:40 PM

    Erik kinda looks like He-Man's Norse cousin.

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  7. I had that toy as a kid.....

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  8. Now I can't remember what all was in the box you got in the mail a few posts ago, but I think your pageboy shot too cute even for doting mothers (which is who I assume kept it all those years).

    ;-)

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  9. Mmmm...dirty martini. That almost distracted me from my comment, which was:

    That guy looks like Prince Valium from Spaceballs. He'd probably be about as much fun to play with too.

    Thanks for supporting our troops!

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  10. That's pretty freakin' awesome of you. I love it.

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  11. Anonymous9:39 PM

    I think the "Footsteps of Jesus" video is more of a travel/historical sites presentation, not a religious one per se. Lots of interesting history in the area.

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  12. Anonymous12:35 AM

    AWESOME!!! What more can I say?
    Peace <3
    Jay

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  13. Does he have Kung Fu grip.... And how long is his sword? If no Kung Fu grip I'm sure GI joe could help him hold his sword.

    You were a cute boy even sportin the Moe cut
    Xo
    V8

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  14. kristina6:50 PM

    Love the soother in the (Baby) Boy Band... ;)

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