The Millennium Falcon Sear's Catalog 1977 Poem

The most unlikely things can break a young boy's heart. Or in this case, the most likely things. For Christmas 1977, or maybe it was 1978, I wanted only one thing: the Millennium Falcon from the Sear's catalog. It was $27.00, and at that time that was way too much for our family. Still, I had hopes. I didn't have resentment for opening my gift and seeing I had gotten the much cheaper Land Cruiser instead, I knew the difference between $9.99 and $27.99 to our family, and I enjoyed what I had. But I longed for that Millennium Falcon. I could easily at this moment go online and buy that toy, even new in the box if I choose, but I never will. It would never be the one from the Sear's catalog I wanted all those years ago. 

A few weeks after Christmas, my little guy, Jack grabbed an Angry Birds toy as we were shopping at Walgreens. When his mother started to explain he wouldn't be getting it he flipped out. Not the normal flipping out of a greedy boy, but the flipping out of someone who is about to be heartbroken over a toy. Jack is not greedy, and he doesn't do this every time we shop, so I bought him the Angry Birds, which he played with steadily for the next few weeks. I wonder what poems he will write about me.

The Millennium Falcon

Poetry is the land cruiser
When you wanted
The Millennium Falcon

The A/V girl
When you wanted
The cheerleader

Poetry is a broom closet
At the Ritz

A Swiss Army Knife
In a nuclear showdown

Being given Tinker Toys
And asked to build Paris

Poetry is half
A loaf of moldy
Bread and enough
Peanut butter to
Last the night

Which is to say
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