I was able this past weekend to right a childhood wrong, and I owe it all to emerging e-technology. The background: years ago, we would summer at a cottage near one my uncle had. My cousin Andy had a large collection of MAD Magazines and Archie comics from the 60’s and 70’s that my sister and I used to look at whenever we were over there. Somehow, all or part of the collection somehow wound up in my hands one day, and got ruined—perhaps thrown out by a well-meaning mother on a cleaning streak, perhaps lost or damaged in a move, I am a little fuzzy on just what occurred. But they got ruined, and it was all my fault.
Cousin Andy was a good sport, but he has wistfully mentioned these lost magazines a few times over the years. So when Amazon was running a post-Christmas file sale on a DVD collection of every MAD magazine ever, for less than $20, I snapped it up. And a good thing, too—a quick check of Amazon this week turned up some shocking prices on used copies, since it’s now out of print! I have been holding onto this DVD ever since January waiting to present it to cousin Andy at the next family event.
So, this weekend, we were all together for a celebration, and I was able to restore to cousin Andy all of his lost magazines, and then some! Needless to say, he was thrilled and surprised by this unexpected gesture and was looking forward to printing out the old centrefolds and puzzle pages to share with his young children. Thank goodness for e-technology, which lets one archive a childhood’s worth of old magazines on one tiny disk! And thank goodness for happy endings on all sides—Andy gets back his lost treasures, and I can finally expunge my guilt over a childhood mishap that I have long regretted. Happy Hanukkah, Andy!