I love going to garage sales - I find them interesting and oddly fun, plus, you can find some really cool shit at them from time-to-time. My main drive is always seeing what I can find that is movie related, namely VHS tapes and maybe even some decent DVDs if I'm lucky. This past weekend brought us to a vast quantity of garage sales, with one of them being located in a parking lot with about 15-20 individual set-ups of sellers just selling their dusty lives away for a quarter.
We had looked at a ton of shit and found very little to be excited about, and I saw absolutely nothing movie wise that was worth more than a glance, which is rare as well as unfortunate. As I went in to one tent, I noticed some pretty hefty prices right off the bat. I looked at my traveling partner/lover and said: "are these dudes on crack?" only to quickly realize that most of what we were looking at was collectable stuff, much of it being old toys and an assortment of neat movie and TV memorabilia. All of this stuff was pretty awesome to look at – nothing that I would actually buy mind you but cool nonetheless.
That is when I spotted the twinkling eye of a familiar face looking back at me from his hiding spot in a far corner behind some random M*A*S*H toys. My eyes widened as he tipped his hat to me, knowing I was smitten by him from the moment our eyes met. As I reached over to pick him up, it was as if we were two lovers meeting at a train station after being separated for nearly a decade. We embraced, I squealed like a little girl, and I looked at the price - which was $8 bucks but I worked that ass for $5 – I paid the loud and wicked tan lady her cash, and off we went into the sunset…Freddy and I.
So what exactly is it that I found? It's the Freddy Krueger Stick-up, a "Horribly Authentic" toy (?) that has a suction cup making it perfect for sticking anywhere you please (no, not there!), thus the stick-up aspect. It's from 1988, which would pair it up with A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master as well as the height of Freddy's mainstream popularity.
Here are a few incredibly detailed and focused pictures I snapped so you could check out this fine piece of movie memorabilia…
Sure, it's totally cheesy, but that is totally why I love it and had to have it. Seeing something like this while journeying about garage sales is such a score, and I definitely would have paid more than the $5 dollars that I did for it. This is some serious evidence as to the power of marketing and the insane popularity of Freddy Krueger, which is what really makes this thing so great. It's the lamest toy I have ever seen, but it says a whole lot about an era where pop culture was ruled by Freddy Krueger, so I am nothing short of ecstatic to own this thing. I think I might stick it up on my ceiling, just so I can go to sleep looking at it every night. Come to think of it, that might not be such a good idea unless I snatch some Hypnocil from Nancy's purse.
I feel like I say this often when I stop on by and leave comments. But seriously, this is one of the best things I have ever read. I too love cruising flea markets, antique stores and yard sales. At it's core, this post is a love letter to those lazy Sunday mornings spent tearing apart musty boxes and haggling with snaggle toothed hillbillies. But, in typical CNAMB fashion, it is also one of the funniest pieces of writing I have EVER read. Maybe I'm a sucker for your sense of humor, but this shit is priceless. Your ability to inject laugh out loud puns and phrases is unmatched.
ReplyDeleteAmazing as always.
I scared the hell out of my hubby when I came home from a garage sale with 2 3-ring binders full of Garbage Pail Kids trading cards. I happily spent $150.00 on them. My hubby now ties me to the couch most Saturday mornings. Hey, at least I drew the line at the New Kids on the Block storage box? Excellent find Matt!
ReplyDeleteNice! And it's still sealed?! That's a bonus. I like how the Freddy toy is in his normal attire but the box picture is him in a trench coat...like flasher Freddy. Come to think of it, they should have made a Flasher Freddy toy in a trench coat.
ReplyDeleteWhat Christine said and more. Freddy could be on a box of soap and I'd still buy it. He has that much pimp juice.
ReplyDeletejunk in the trunk... awesome find, i have the talking freddy doll somewhere. i had one of those freddy danglers in my work car they kept telling me it was too violent..
ReplyDeletei so want to garage sale'n, my wife says no...
Horribly authentic, or horribly AWESOME?? The garage sales here are garbage, Ive never uncovered anything worth mentioning, but the swap meets... drool.
ReplyDeleteChristine: Knock it off, you wonderful person with too many good things to say you! Thanks a bunch, that means a lot and I am thrilled you enjoyed my adventures in garage sale land!
ReplyDeleteSandi: That's awesome...love Garbage Pail Kids and would love to go through and look at them all again. I can imagine if they're in a binder, they're in great condition. Mine were always in stacks and held together by a rubber band!
Geof: Eww, flasher Freddy, complete with burnt wiener!
It being sealed is a major selling point...if it wasn't, I might not have picked it up, or at least not for more than a buck.
Ashlee: Thanks! And I would definitely buy a box of soap with Krueger on it...It could be called Krueger Kleaner!
Zombie: Ha, you should have been sharpening a knife and said: "What's so violent about it?"
Carl: There are a lot in Ohio as opposed to the part of Mass where I am from. Still, most of the surrounding area where I live is very small town and conservative, so there aren't that many people selling good horror shit, unfortunately. There is still gold to be found once in a while, if you don't mind looking for it.