Every kid falls in love with one particular line of toys. I’m sure those of you who are parents have seen it; that one brand of action figure or doll that they just have to have every single one of, or There Will Be Tantrums. When I was in elementary school, my borderline-obsessive toy favorite was G.I. Joe. I couldn’t get enough of them. I had an entire army’s worth of Joes. They took up three plastic bins underneath the bed that was covered with a G.I. Joe comforter. I sent away for the comic books and wallpapered my room with their posters.
Best of all, I loved G.I. Joe: The Movie. For those of you who aren’t familiar, the movie was just basically three long episodes of the cheesy television series, strung together; its totally kickin’ rad 1980s voiceover cast features Don Johnson, Burgess Meredith and the wrestler Sgt. Slaughter. You can watch it here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PckPcZM_i1w). I had the G.I. Joe: The Movie on VHS, and watched it almost every day on the top-loading VCR in my basement; I could recite every line of dialogue with the passion and conviction of Olivier. I think I had my parents worried.
Then, one traumatic day in the second grade, the tape was stolen from me. It was my own fault – I left it exposed in my backpack, hanging up in the big closet in the back of my classroom. One of my beloved classmates pinched it. I cried bloody murder and raised a giant stink with the teacher, but no one ever copped to it or returned the tape. I was heartbroken.
I’m reminded of my G.I. Joe: The Movie experience whenever I think about ElephantDrive. That thievery was the first real drill-it-into-my-head moment that there are bad people out there who will not hesitate to take your valuables if necessary. That’s why I’m sure to backup all of my stuff to the Cloud. I’ve been lucky throughout my life – I’ve never had a cellphone, laptop, PDA, iPod or iPad stolen from me. But if my G.I. Joe: The Movie experience taught me anything, it was that it could happen. That’s why all of my files are saved safe and secure online with the ElephantDrive cloud, where I can easily access them in case some unscrupulous individual decides to seize the opportunity to seize my stuff.
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. It’s one of the best philosophies to have in life and in work – and I have a cheesy 1980s cartoon to thank for that. Yo Joe! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DN034sBeF4c)
