Sorry for the delay in chiming in...but here goes...
I first met Mike at one of the Sherwood toy shows. I was working a booth with a friend and Mike swung by to check out the wares. He ended up buying a Japanese Tranformers Constructicon rip-off from me (which i beleive is still in BHT on one of the higher shelves.) I just missed getting to the store on Gordon Drummond, and he was just moving into the new location when i first stopped in. I think in that first day I spent a couple of hours in the store and chatting with Mike. Personable. A story teller. A passion for the hobby and for all toys. A kindred spirit!
Between work and family, I wasn't always able to get to the shop, but when I did, it was like Cheers. Didin't always buy something, but catching up with Mike and sometimes Denise was reason enough to put in an appearance.
A couple of things that stand out:
A few years ago the window on my car was busted in two days before Christmas and I needed some quick cash to replace it. I gathered up a bunch of stuff I had picked up at shows and garage sales and went to BHT. Mike gave me $200 for what I brought in, which paid for my window, and I'm sure he didn't need all of it, but he was kind enough to hook me up. In fact, he talked me into holding on to a couple of items that were really worth something, including a die-cast Star Wars Landspeeder that I'd had since I was kid. "It's your childhood man, don't sell it"...or words to that effect. I still have it...thanks Mike.
Another stand out was after the Joe Meet two years ago (the infamous one). I helped Mike take all of the gear and whatnot back to the store afterwards, and we talked until well after Midnight about toys, the meet, GI Joe, and all kinds of other things. I t was my first meet, and it was a blast!
I also have the distinction of helping to pimp BHT to the general public. When Mike decided to advertise on the radio, he chose Y108 in Hamilton. At the time, I was a copy writer there and when I saw the contract come in, I volunteered to take the account. Mike's ads were fun because he wanted them to be honest, and I think that came across. "More fun than a poke in the eye" indeed!
Finally, my favourite connection to Mike is through marriage. After knowing him for about a year, I was in the store one day talking about stuff like where we grew up and where we went to school, and we discovered that Mike actually went to school with my wife and brother-in-law back in the day. He then told me a funny story of how him and a buddy once phoned my brother-in-law, and pretended to be radio dj's calling to award a pair of tickets to a Glass Tiger concert (which I thought odd, since Mike is a HUGE Northeern Pikes fan). My brother in law, not the sharpest knife in the drawer at the time, was ecstatic to have won and of course felt like a total knob when Mike let him off the hook.
There's more I could say, but at this point it's a novel. Suffice it to say that although I'm sad to see the doors close, I'm happy for Mike and Denise and what the future holds for them. Thanks for being there and helping people relive their childhoods.
That's something you can look back on with great pride.
Cheers!
Bryan
