Memory Hole: Where oh Where Have All the Toy Stores Gone?

It's been a while since I took y'all on a tour down my memory lane, but with the holidays rolling around I can't help but look back on my childhood and ponder how unlucky kids in West Ashley are today.

In the 80s, when I was a wee tike, I had my choice of three big box toy stores almost withing spitting distance of each other. My hands down favorite was Lionel's Play World on Sam Rittenburg. I always liked kangaroos and they had one for a mascott, an nothing against giraffes, but an animal that can outbox a human was just plain awesome in my book.

Playworld is long gone now, though I still have fond memories of stalking the aisles, which at the time towered over my less than 4-foot frame, with row upon row of Masters of the Universe, G.I.Joe, Star Wars and Transformers action figures. I remember having light saber battles with my cousins with the old-school light saber toys that were essentially flashlights with hollow red or green plastic tubes attached, open at the end to allow for a swooshing sound when swung.

Along with Playworld I had Toy R' Us and Children's Palace just down the road. I could spend hours in any of the three, much to my parents' chagrin I'm sure.

These days the only large toy store in the Charleston area is the Toys R' Us on Rivers Avenue in North Charleston. Sure Target, Walmart and K-Mart each still have several aisles of toys, and Wonderworks carries thousands of interesting things to play with, but it's just not the same.

Going to the toy store was the ultimate treat. I didn't have to worry about mom and dad dragging me away from the legos to try on shoes or shirts, and there was absolutely no chance I'd have to entertain myself while they looked at aisle after aisle of home furnishings.

To my pre-adolescent mind there was just nothing better than the toy store, I'm glad I had that experience, and I feel sorry for anyone that has never experienced the sense of wonder that 50,000-square-feet of toys engenders in a young mind.