Rescue Renaissance

These were names from the past: Billy Blazes, Rocky Canyon, Wendy Waters, Jake Justice, Areil Flyer. They once occupied a large portion of my son's heart and mind, back in the days before Nintendo, and Star Wars. They were the Rescue Heroes. They were the backbone of our toy collection for a good three years. The most important thing, in my wife's mind about the Rescue Heroes was the positive images they projected for my son to play with. They didn't carry weapons (except for that axe) and their mission in life was helping others and teaching them important life lessons: "Being safe is half the battle." The most important thing, in my mind, about the Rescue Heroes was their extra-wide feet. This meant fewer tears of frustration as little hands attempted to recreate intricate scenarios they had seen on television.
The tears of frustration came from the parents. There were dozens of Heroes to collect. If you managed to purchase all the major characters, there were still minor characters as well as animal "helpers" to acquire. But, to have truly exciting adventures, you couldn't do without the myriad of vehicles and command centers. Six months later, the whole collection would be in turmoil because a new version of Billy or Wendy would appear at Toys R Us and a new cycle of purchasing would begin. And every single one of them required some new battery or tiny set of stickers that needed to be inserted or applied by a helpful adult.
Then one day, it was over. He decided to donate his Rescue Heroes to his old preschool. This made him something of a legend there, and it opened up hundreds of cubic feet of storage in our house. This allowed video games and Legos - more "grown up" toys to find their way in. It was fun to see our boy grow up, but sometimes mom and dad missed the old crew. Last week, so did he. After a few minor earth tremors, and a meeting at his school about emergency preparedness, he started pining for his pals. Wednesday, after school, he and his mom went by the preschool and re-borrowed the lot of them for a visit of undetermined length. It's nice to have them back, but to be honest, I'm not sure where the kid's going to sleep tonight.