Metamorphosis Diario

Thursday, March 1, 2007 - Not so Evil, Evel Knievel

When I was a little boy growing up in early 1970's England, there was a lot of Americana around. It was kind of cool being American, everything looked bigger and better. Many of the TV shows were American, we had all the American detective TV shows such as Starsky & Hutch. Kojak, Columbo. The Six Million Dollar man was cool, as was Star Trek, back when William Shatner had more hair and less beergut. CW McCall's Convoy record was high on the charts, which just sounds silly 30 years later.

With the influx of American TV shows and comic book superheroes came associated toys. I had a six miilion dollar man action figure but looked on in envy at the TV ads for the Evel Knievel motorcycle which I longed for but never got, I always remembered how cool Evel looked and imagined my own back garden stunts which would surpass his London Wembley stadium bus jumping stunt, I think it was 18 if memory serves?

30 years later and I now have 2 sons of my own, James is 3 and just yesterday I came across the Evel Knievel stunt cycle with wind up power booster ( or whatever the correct marketing terminology is) from my boyhood dreams. Excitedly I forked out the $29.99 and rushed home anticipating the countless hours of adventures me and my boy would have with Evel. Wheelies, headstands, trick jumps the sky was the limit........... even though the recommeded age is 5 years old.

After getting him out of the box and struglling to put his little plastic hands on the bike, thinking to myself how the hell would a 5 year old manage this. Off James and I went to the park.................... for a whole 10 minutes. Even with the brute force of a stocky 42 year old winding the booster hell for leather, little plastic Evel can only manage to go 5 to 6 feet before pathetically tumbling and falling on the floor. Seems I've fell victim to the ghost of some slick TV ads from my childhood.

Along with platform shoes, 3 star jumpers, 10 button wasteband Oxford bags, Gary Glitter and The Bay City Rollers some things are better left as nostalgia............................................................