OK, Im new here, and going to put up my 1st post which REALLY shows my age...
Waaaay back when... after I got my paper route (in 4th grade), it only took about four months before I could start affording toys that
I really wanted, and that I could PAY FOR MYSELF.
That November, I remember when I bought my first VERTI-BIRD helicopter toy set. It was the shape of a big boat, and it had divers, and subs, and things
for the rescue helicopter to pick up and ferry back to the ship. It was AWESOME, and I ALWAYS remember to put it away when I was done playing with
it. Mostly because I didnt want the dog to find it and chew up the copter. But also cuz I wanted to lord it over my brothers.
Anyway, I remember hearing my mom tell my dad (when she thought I wasnt in earshot) that she had to RETURN the one I had been begging for for Christmas.
And she was mad that I was spending my own money on my own toys. (blackmail is addictive for a parent, I guess).
(GAWD, when I look on eBay for one, I found one, and see it came out in 1972)
Anyway, it was bitchin'. And it was the earlier 'dangerous' version of that toy. After kids started putting their heads down to floor level, they changed the design to first put a ring around the propellers, and then finally, the HUB actually lifted the toy itself instead of the propellers. (NO FUN AT ALL)
But man ! Those propellers were fast.
-Clone 'One-Eye' Wolf