One BIG Flashback

It was the great 20th Century poet Samuel Hagar who once said, "only time will tell if we stand the test of time."

Even though I was much more of a David Roth guy, I did always love that line.

And how true it really is.

I used to LOVE the show CHiPS.

I challenge you to watch it now.

I used to LOVE the music of Kajagoogoo.

Used to.

One of my favorite movies of all-time is Midnight Run with Robert DeNiro and Charles Grodin.

I can remember howling out loud in the theatre, thinking it was one of the funniest movies I had ever seen.

And that is so true.

It WAS one of the funniest movies I had ever seen.

When it came out in 1988.

I watched it again with a couple of friends not too long ago, when I was looking for a few laughs.

And that’s exactly what I got.

A few laughs.

Sure, I laughed.  

A few times.  

Maybe even a bunch if times.

But "one of the funniest movies EVER".... not so much.

Last weekend with my family visiting the Big Apple we took a stroll near Central Park.

We checked out The Plaza Hotel, the 24-hour Apple Store and we made a return trip to FAO Schwarz, the world famous toy store.

I actually missed their first trip to FAO earlier in the week, so this was the kids’ opportunity to show me all of the toys that they REALLY wanted.

Wow, what a place.

I had been there as a kid, several times, but as a grown up the store looked so much clearer.

I  was actually able to see the $900 price tag on the stuffed giraffe.

And I was actually able to figure out the magic trick the guy was doing at the top of the escalator on the second floor.

What I didn’t understand is why a mother picked the wide-open middle of the Barbie section to breast-feed her child.

Even though my kids had been to the store just once before, they seemed to know the place like it was home.

We saw legos and race tracks and dolls and games and electric cars and muppets and stuffed animals.

And stuffed animals.

And stuffed animals.

The pressure to purchase got so bad for my seven-year old that at one point, she finally gave in...

“We don’t have to get anything at Toys R Us if you get me this stuffed animal.”

How sweet.

Actually it was sweet...  for us.   We got her the $10 stuffed turtle she asked for.

And that was it.

FAO Schwarz for $10?

Priceless.

At one point during the tour, we stumbled upon a room with a large floor piano.

It is probably twenty feet long, sitting flat on the ground.

It is built so that you can run around on it, playing the keys with your feet.

Price tag:  $250,000.

It comes with a choreographer who gives you lessons.

Such a deal.

It is called the big piano.

Actually, the BIG piano.

As in, the piano that Tom Hanks made famous in the movie, Big.

Big was one of my favorite movies when it came out in the summer of 1988, five weeks before Midnight Run.

Hanks was brilliant in the movie, where he played the role of a 12-year old boy in a 30-year old man’s body.

The scene with the corn is one of my favorite of all-time.

At least it used to be.

I wonder if it still holds up.