#Throwback Thursday: Toy Soldiers (2003)

November 19, 2003

So Joe's been playing Army Men on the Playstation. If you haven't seen this thing, it's this old school video game where you play as green plastic army men, and you wage war against the tan plastic army men on battlefields—the back yard, the kitchen table, and other parts of a house. While I was in Davis Square the other day, I went to Family Dollar for toothpaste and toilet paper (thank God for dollar stores) and I saw a bag of green army men. Had to get 'em.

So last night when Joe took a game break, I quietly put every single one of the army men all around his desk. On the speaker, on the remote, the CD stack, the mail. All pointing their guns at him. Then I went back to my book (okay, it's not a BOOK, I'm "reading" a collection of Calvin and Hobbes cartoons, okay?!) and waited for Joe to come out of the bathroom and laugh.Joe came out of the bathroom and picked up the Playstation control. Resumed play..

Nothin'. Okay, from my vantage point, you guys? It looked like a small army had swarmed the desk.Tiny little green machine-gun guys and rifle-guys cast tiny little silhouettes on the TV screen, across which swarmed all those Playstation army men, controlled by The Big Kowalski. Like an hour went by. What is happening, why hasn't he called out yet about all these army men."I can't believe he doesn't see them!" Jeez, talk about singular focus. 

Long after I'd taken Calvin and Hobbes to bed and forgot about my little prank myself, FINALLY from the next room there came a sudden, "HEY! Where'd these army men come from!?" 

I love this guy.