Many of the stories on this page are fiction.
Please keep that in mind when reading them.

Well, the Trishinator promised she'd post a NEW "ROCK ON" for me if I
ever got around to doing one and here it is.
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It's bad enough to be soooo busy as I have been for the last couple of months, too busy to look at Hot Wheels or even think about writing a
column for this rag, but then to get dissed by the computer gods and
have my WHOLE page just disappear into a cloud of electronic smoke.
Well it gives a man pause, thus the (sigh) in the title line.
.
.On a serious note though, the passing of Jon Brecka has put a little electronic glitch into perspective, as in, the glitch is "no big deal".   My thoughts go out to his family.
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Ok, So I decide to go out looking for some Hot Wheels, I still need a couple of 99's to complete my FE's for the past century, that and a
Number 5 from the 95 FE's (hint, are you listening Trish mam'?).  So I
walk into a couple of my usual haunts and find the usual not much.  But
I did run into, what must have been, for lack of a better term, a "Newbie" scalper. As in the guy was trying to hoard all of the good stuff, but really didn't have a clue what was "cool" or "hot".  So he sees me walk up and methodically start going through the pegs starting at the opposite side of the rack from himself.  "Hey" he says, "I hope you realize I was here first"  I figured he must be talking to somebody else as I was not, and in fact never do bother anyone. "HEY" he said a little louder.  "If you find anything good I get to check it out FIRST"
.
This made me curious, and a little *ticked even though I had already
determined that these pegs were thoroughly gone through.  So I calmly
asked him.  "So, what's good?"
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"You know, the Cool stuff"
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"Yah, but, uh, what's cool?'
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"Don't give me that!  You're a collector, you know what I mean"
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"No, no really, what's cool, what EXACTLY do I have to give your
almighty lordship if I should happen to find it on these PUBLIC pegs in
this PUBLIC store to which I have at the VERY least an equal right to as
you."  "Because if you don't know I sure as *heck ain't gonna find it
for you."
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You must understand that the last was said loud enough for the store
manager, a man I talk to regularly,  who was standing nearby to hear.
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"Is there a problem here?" the manager asks striding over.
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"No problem at all"  the other guy says.
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"*Heck yes there's a problem" I said "*Buffoon face here seems to think that ALL of these Hot Wheels are "his" and that if I should, by some miracle, find a "cool" car, I have to give it to him."  "But that's not the real problem.  The REAL problem is he can't even TELL me what's COOL!" "Why I'm afraid to pick something up, I may have to give it to him"
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The manager turned to the guy, dead serious.  "Did you get here
first?"
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"uh, well yah, I did"
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"Did you tell this guy (meaning me) that you got to buy all of the "cool" cars first?"
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"Uh, well yah I did" ( a bit defiantly)
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"OK, fine," says the manager. "Then I expect you to buy EVERY single
car that's cool"
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"Yah" I said, " but he don't know 'Cool' from shinola"
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"But you do" said the manager, smiling
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"Well, ok, I do" I said smiling back
.
And that boys and girls, is why there are no more "old" Hot Wheels in my
local Target Store.   Love, ROCK
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P.S. ( the true part.  Actually he left the store without buying
anything and I  have not seen him since.) (oh, the dialog was watered
down from the original too, I got a little more *ticked then I let on
here.  I do not suffer fools gladly, make them suffer? ok)  Love, ROCK
.
Welcome back ROCK.  We've missed ya.  Trish