Before I get to My next major showcase I wanted to make this very unique yet quite significant one. While other people, basically 90% of the population in Cyberspace don't think of their past and don't think twice of preserving it, I'm doing it as much as I can because I care about it and I don't want all of those times & memories to fall to Oblivion so this special showcase will be called
My Journey to K-Mart Plaza I'm doing this because My previous presentation was
REMCO's American Defense which was not only an exclusive to
K-Mart but it was their brainchild for their
Toy Department As a refresher just go back to My previous one, My content is like so few on the web that's always worth a second look
I've been thinking of this for quite a while now which if you've been following My showcases then you know how important and dear
K-Mart Plaza is to Me. I presented & talked about it numerous times and now I wanted to make a special showcase of My
Journey to K-Mart Plaza because I remember how We went there all the time like it was last week. I'd usually go with My Grandma MiMi but occasionally My Grandpa PoPo would drive with Us together there but he'd go the opposite direction which I liked that route as well. So from Our great old house We'd go down the street. Here's the cool
7-11 I deeply expressed in
My all-crucial Odds & Ends in one of My most imperative showcases...
Glory Days of Movie Rentals because for a time you could rent movies there. You can see My extraordinary Showcase here --->
http://www.dctoyrevolution.org/general-toy-discussions/my-odds-ends-insane-keychain-t1176-40.html. My Grandma found two of My all-time favorites there which was
House 1 & House 2: The Second Story. Our last meal which was their delicious
Nachos, Chili & Cheese came from there as I recall it like it was yesterday as Me & My Grandma MiMi eating on the floor at Our old great home just doors down because We were ready to move to Our new home in
August, 1990. As sad as that moment was it was a great one because it was just Me & My Grandma in Our now empty House that We had so many good memories at
This
7-11 was such a fun location and so convenient to be at
So as We turn right a bit down on
Morgan Ford, there's
Tru-Buy on the left that I recently showcased here in this very fine topic of Mine last year when I showcased My
Thugee Goon & Persian Prince and on the right across the street there's where
Rainbow Video & The Ringmaker/The Ring Master was. I deeply showcased them in
My Odds & Ends as well. I must say that before them and before My time that building used to be
Allan's Sports Goods. I never knew him nor his store but I don't want him to fall to Oblivion as so many people in that region has allowed so this is the first time I'm entering him here
This is actually the back of the building of where
Tru-Buy was as sometimes We'd exit to the Alley. On this street My Grandpa's friends Pat & Marty Brisco lived there across the street. They were married for a long time and had two grown daughters that drove little
Suzuki Jeeps. My Grandma was not crazy about Pat & Marty at all. Marty would always want to pinch My belly, he was a big rough man that MiMi said he was like
"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan and I kida agreed but in recent times I see that
AEW's The Butcher looks like his head-wise with the balding head and the mustache. I haven't seen them in ages and I hope their still around
So as We go further down on
Morgan Ford, there's
Imo's Pizza which is
Missouri's famous local
Pizza Restaurant. We got them a lot at the old house. If you've never have had
St. Louis Style Thin Crust Pizza they your missing out on some of the best tasting
Pizza ever...with My Auntie Wanda...if it wasn't
Imo's then it wasn't
Pizza Next to it is My Father Buddy's Old House. I stayed there many times for My visitations when I was a youngster and while I never wanted to stay there, I did have at least a couple good times there...
however when he was drunk and left Me at the
Tavern/Bar across the street from his home and I was there till like after
2 AM, that was it and My Visitations was over...My Grandma made the end to that
I look back on how all of the situations was with My Father and I would have liked it to been different
However if you've followed My showcases you know not everything is negative about him...he gave Me that wonderful
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Movie Poster when he worked at
The Kenrick Theater, bought Me a lot of
Hasbro's Battle Beasts that I regret not keeping and also he introduced Me to one of My all-time favorite movies
Big Trouble in Little China which I heavily spotlighted that in PB's
Movie Trailer Topic hence My
Avatar for example
So as We go down on
Morgan Ford We turn left to the
area to the former Park. I have always loved that building with the
Tractor Trailers. On the right is a fantastic
Railroad but that has changed so much over the course of decades already. I loved looking at that and being there when I was a youngster
I love those
Tractor Trailers. Now this was actually a
fairground of sorts when I was a youngster. They had a
Ferris wheel and a lot of stuff. I won some items there including some possible knockoff/bootleg
Madballs. Later it just became a
Park that sometimes Me & My Grandpa PoPo walked to. We didn't go there all the time as which We really preferred
Tower Grove Park the opposite direction across the street from his
A&M Bike Shop that I showcased in My
Star Wars Topic last year
Now I really don't know what this area is which i why I'm calling a "
former park".
So now We're going down the street even further. When I'd see the the big tall apartment complex on the left, I knew We were close as We'd always turn to the right
This street used to be a brick road from the old times but they replaced it with your usual modern tar streets and now thanks to them city brainiacs, that history has been gone for at least two decades now and I'm sure guardians of kids within this area never told them this history but I hope I'm wrong about that
Up straight is the way We used to go to the
St. Louis Library, it's a magnificent place and I love the structure of the iconic building. I got many memories from that place too which I found My all-time favorite
Dinosaur Book there which I will talk about that in time
As a passenger I always love looking around town for anything ever since I was a youngster as I've always been a wondrous person wanting to see & know as much as possible. I've always liked to look up the alleys as well and I still do
So now We're going toward the street even further...
and here We are...the back way to where so much fun was...
K-Mart Plaza on
Potomac & Morgan Ford that many great stores was a part of
This is where the back of the buildings were particularly
Kroger as We drove in thru this back driveway
This is what Our local
Kroger looked like back in the day before they went out of business before they came back to fruition sometime later.
Recently I showcased My only item that I know I got at
Kroger. I recently showcased this last year for
Halloween which was a cool
MOTU Paint with Water Book. Look at that
Kroger Price Sticker on there. I'm so glad I never tore it off otherwise I may have never known that this came from that special location
So
K-Mart was right next door to them. I was very young at the time but I believe My Grandma would stop in there many times after she'd shop at
Kroger or vice versa. I remember it vaguely because
Kroger went out before I started to realize things as I got older...
however, there's one moment that I do recall very well. I pointed this out before in My Showcases though I don't know how many people saw it or really paid attention to how special this moment was for Me. Over at
K-Mart she got Me the
Vintage Kenner Star Wars Dewback which was remarkable because by time I got into
SW, Return of the Jedi was already out and stuff. Now if that isn't special enough, one day at
Kroger I was in the baby-seat in the shopping cart. My Grandma looked on the floor and said "look what I found Angel"
I recall how ecstatic I was...she handed it to Me, it was a loose
Vintage Kenner Star Wars Stormtrooper Some poor child must have got him at
K-Mart and dropped him or something like that and their parent never looked for it or never knew. Is all I know I was one lucky little boy that day. From then on I always pretended he was a
Sandtrooper since he was quite worn-out and I still do as I type this very special presentation
Here they are together and I so thankful for this
There was a ton of other great stuff I got at
K-Mart some that I previously showcased which a big honorable mention is My
Tonka Willow Nockmaar Warrior on a Horse figure that I previously showcased along with his
K-Mart Price Sticker along with many other great stores that I absolutely loved to go to
In
1990 she got Me My first
WWF Hasbro figure which was
Hulk Hogan. It was the only figure they had at the time as they were sold out. The figure next to him
Kenner's Scorpion Alien she got Me at
Venture in
1992 Now of course there was more than just them in
K-Mart Plaza. There was a
beauty shop there that I unfortunately can't recall their name, a
nutrition store that I believe wasn't
GNC and there was a
Radio Shack there as well.
While I can't say about the two formers, I can say that I liked going to that little
Radio Shack because for one, I liked electronics at a very early age hence Me playing My Mom's
Commodore 64. They had computers and stuff like that but I was mostly interested in
remote control cars & vehicles and toys like that too. Maybe I really wasn't that interested in them as much as the toys at
K-Mart but I did like looking at them
However, there was one store that opened a bit later either in
1989 or 1990. It was a good video rental outlet that I expressed a lot in
My all-crucial Odds & Ends in one of My most imperative showcases that I have ever presented called
Glory Days of Movie Rentals. For Christmas of
1990 My Grandma got Me the
VHS of
E.T.: The Extraterrestrial & Beetlejuice. She worked her magic and was able to buy them from the grumpy yet good Asian guy that owned the huge
Televideo These were two of My first ever
Christmas presents at Our then new House
I truly believe that I maybe the only person in existence that has anything from
Televideo and if it wasn't for Me keeping these wonderful
VHS Tapes and the
Televideo Logo Sticker Label on them, they would have complexly fallen to Oblivion...I've done the same with
Rainbow Video & Verna's Mr. T's as well which you can see this crucial showcase of in it's entirety right here --->
http://www.dctoyrevolution.org/general-toy-discussions/my-odds-ends-insane-keychain-t1176-40.html I don't know how people can just disregard and throw away their local history like that...you couldn't pay Me enough moolah to do such an absurd thing like that
Even though the plaza looks unrecognizable now, this is as close as possible to how it looked like then.
Televideo went out of business in
late 92/early 93. It was a sad time about that because they were so cool. They didn't go out of business due to poor business or competition, they went out because the neighborhood was getting worse. As always, you can thank people for things...it's ALWAYS PEOPLE
So during the last days of
K-Mart and basically the entire plaza, Me & My Grandma was going to
K-Mart as much as possible as they were hanging on by a very thin thread. One day in
2000 I was so depressed for reasons I'd rather not talk about. I wanted to go out to
K-Mart (keep in mind,
Venture was already gone for two long years already and
Target wasn't on My mind because they didn't have what I was after
She made My day because We went to
K-Mart cause I knew they had what I needed...She took Me there and I saw him in the isle, she got Me the
WCW ToyBiz Scott Hall Chase Variant I couldn't believe it when I saw him on the peg, he was My very FIRST CHASE FIGURE EVER
However this wasn't the big thing I was after, I was after the
OSTM ECW figures...I wanted them really, really bad. I saw them there and I couldn't believe it
She got Me the
OSTM ECW Shane Douglas who was already in
WCW as well as other
ECW Figures. I already showcased My entire collection in My
Vintage Wrestling Collection so go here --->
http://www.dctoyrevolution.org/wrestling-toys-collectibles-f56/my-vintage-wrestling-collection-t1082-60.html. Here they are, two of the VERY LAST action figures and/or items I ever got at
K-Mart So during that time of
2000 to the mid
2000s it was all gone...
K-Mart Plaza was all leveled out for something new. I really didn't know what was going there and really I didn't care at the time because what in the heck could be better than the
K-Mart Plaza that I knew for most of My life...I mean really
I believe in
late 2004 it was all finished. It was a new a plaza that looked really decent & clean. There really wasn't a ton for Us to do like before but it still seemed familiar however. Even though
K-Mart was gone forever, We'd still go thru the back way which I always preferred that way
So We'd drive around the new building with the nice dumpsters...
We'd turn to the right and there was the new plaza
This is soe key stores that We were interested in going to
So My number store there was
GameStop. I really liked that little store. You could buy
Video Games, DVDs & Action Figures. I got a lot there. Next to it was
Sally Beauty Supply. My Grandma would get some stuff there and even I would get those clear plastic rubber-bands that is included with action figures...yes they had them
Unfortunately both of these stores are gone thanks to the P!amDemic
Dollar Tree is still there however, We used to go there a lot as well
We'd also stop in at the
Shop 'n Save there to look at the
Vending Machines but We really never had any success there like We did at other places that I showcased in
My Odds & Ends. Also because of the P!amDemic,
Shop 'n Save was severely going under and like they did to
National in the
early/mid 90s, Schnucks took them over, didn't re-branded them or anything, just took their money, stock and that's it...all of that history was gone which this has never sits well with Me about
Schnucks So the building was remodeled and became an
Aldi which is one of the biggest grocery store chains on the entire planet and this became a
"Super" Aldi Aldi is good but it will never be as special as the
Kroger that was once here nor even the
Shop 'n Save for that matter
Oh and a bit further on the left they built a new
Wendy's which that was a nice location
I liked looking over to the areas next to the
Plaza, I always thought it was so cool
As I mentioned a little while ago, My Grandpa PoPo would go the opposite direction, he'd go straight up
Morgan Ford and go up the street were
Aqua World & The Resale Shop is (I'll talk about that at a later time in
My Odds & Ends) and there used to be a
Jack in the Box there as well (which I don't recall ever eating at). You can see that it is no longer there in the picture below which a shame that it is gone and also you can see the trees to the area further down where Our old great house was. My PoPo always liked to take the long way and We'd pull in the front of the
parking lot. He didn't worry about time, he was always on time for everything, in fact I never recall him late for anything, for his work, taking Me to school, going to the show...nothing...even in his final days
So that will do it for this special bonus showcase. I hope you enjoyed it and were surprised about it
Next up will be a big figure series that has been waiting a long time to become a part of
My Topic...until then I'll see you around