VOICES OF ETERNIA: The Day I Gave Away the Power

By Zoar (Voodoo Magic)

As the flood waters reached my second floor window, and a police officer pulled his rescue boat alongside my windowsill, I recalled thinking this could never happen where I lived. But thanks to some nearby new commercial developments built over once water-absorbing grasslands, a lack of sewer system and 1999’s devastating Hurricane Floyd, I learned the hard way how wrong I was. Climbing into that police boat and ducking under powerlines as we traveled to rescue other people begging to bring along their pets (but were not permitted to), that evening quickly established itself as one of the hardest nights of my life.

Days later, after the military secured the area and martial law was declared in attemp to stop a string of looting, I was able to return to my residence to see what I could recover. I happened to be one of the lucky ones, someone who rented a property versus owned, and had the ability to walk away from this horrible scene without the devastation of trying to find a way to repair my home. Instead, I could just move out, but anything I could salvage had go to a storage facility and anything ruined had to be vacated off the premises and junked. Regardless the destination, everything had to go. Fortunately friends and family were there for me to help.

There was one person, a friend of a friend named Ralph, who helped me unload my belongings morning until night. I don’t think I ever knew him, and would ultimately never see him again, but that day in a sheer act of compassion, he helped excavate the mostly waterlogged possessions of my life.

There was one possession that avoided water damage; my vintage Masters of the Universe figures and toys. Castle Grayskull, Snake Mountain, He-Man, Skeletor. The Wind Raider! They were all safe, stored up top an attic closet shelf. My intent was to always to share these awesome Motu toys I kept from childhood with my own kids one day. And now I still could.

But when that friend of a friend Ralph saw these Masters of the Universe vintage toys, he simply lit up. We stopped working for a few minutes, as we went through my plastic childhood memories and I could tell he was really enamored with the collection I maintained. I could just feel his love and passion for the property and how he (perhaps due to economic means) did not amass quite the collection as I was spoiled with as a child. After a few more minutes of nostalgia, we went back to work clearing debris, and trying to salvage any memories that I could.

The work ended very late that night. Exhausted thoroughly, mentally and physically, I thanked everyone and said my grateful goodbyes. When I saw Ralph, I picked up my Motu collection and handed it to him. He was surprised and extremely appreciative. I explained it was my way of thanking him for basically helping a stranger in a real time of need. I just wished I had something like that for everyone that helped that day, something to express my deep appreciation and gratitude. But alas, my Motu vintage collection is all I had, so I thanked him again that night and never saw Ralph again.

As the years have gone by (way too fast) and I’ve recounted that story to other Masters of the Universe fans, many have suggested I go on a spending spree and reassemble my collection. All these vintage toys are available through the secondary market, they tell me. You can get back your entire collection you gave away! But I explained to them that I only felt compelled to re-obtain one figure, Webstor, which was my favorite vintage Motu figure as a child. And Webstor was all that I needed.

Castle Grayskull, Snake Mountain, He-Man and the rest of them can actually remain gone. Ironically now, the absence of these vintage toys is what I ultimately prefer. What’s in their place, you ask? Just a constant reminder of the good that can be found in people’s hearts, and the kindness of their actions.

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