Some dedicated person has put the entire history of Lego manuals online. I remember quite fondly pouring over each instruction with my father, spending an entire afternoon in deep concentration. It looks like my prime years were 1985 to 1993. Even 15 years later, I can remember without hesitation every single set I owned and how I repurposed each piece into some new creation. There are many favorites: the pirate ship, the Robin Hood themed series, the police station.

I think it is safe to say though that no Christmas will ever be like the one when I received the Monorail. If it was sitting in this room right now, I would stay up all night building it again.

My sister was quick to remind me that a percentage of the Lego stock that I used was inherited from her. She had sets dating from 1981, whose pieces were almost always compatible with future sets. A lot of the space sets from that era were so damn cool.