'The day I moved into res for my second year in late August of 1988, I met Bruce Freadrich. We were both student leaders and he lived the floor below me. He helped me move in, we hit it off and, coincidentally, roomed together for our leadership training.
He did a lot of neat things, and invited me along. He drove a white Toyota Tercel, so that gave us a lot more flexibility and independence.
For the Summer, he moved off campus. His girlfriend of the time had a condominium just a few blocks off campus. She had gone home for the Summer but let Bruce sublet it. He had also garnered a job with Grey Beverages, the local Pepsi distributor.
One day, not too long into the four-month summer break, Bruce came to res. He was not happy at his job, and it was not what he had expected. He wanted to quit, but was assessing his options. I mentioned Spring and Summer session. It was not only a way to make up for classes a student dropped, like myself, but also a chance to lighten the course load during Fall and Winter session.
Bruce, who was an English major and a Classics minor, liked the idea. He checked into classes, and there were several over the four months he could take – so he did.
Now, I had a friend to hang out with.
He always wanted to do something and, we had a lot in common, so whatever he proposed I always wanted to do.
Bruce had introduced me to this restaurant on Calgary Trail South called Fuddruckers. It was a franchise from the States that made these immense burgers that were just incredible. For perspective, Sheldon’s twin sister on “The Big Bang Theory” worked at a Fuddruckers in Texas.
Another of our common interests, besides food, was music. We often traded tapes and talked about songs we heard.
One day, we were cruising down Calgary Trail on our way to Fuddruckers. Bruce popped a cassette in his tape deck.
“You have to listen to this,” he said. “It is incredible.”
It usually was, when he recommended it.
The song that played was “Toy Soldiers” by Martika.
Bruce was right.
The song
Martika released “Toy Soldiers” in late April of 1989, as the second single from her self-titled debut album “Martika”.
Martika released “Toy Soldiers” in late April of 1989, as the second single from her self-titled debut album “Martika”.
It was an incredible song. Bruce just loved Martika’s voice and described it as powerful and haunting. I just loved the lyrics and the message. We both liked the use of a children’s choir, including the line, “Won’t you come out and play with me.”
Wikipedia reveals Martika wrote the song about a friend who was battling a cocaine addiction. She was a little hesitant, because she had only written a couple songs and they were pretty light. She said this was the first time she got the courage to write about something that scared her to talk about, so she did. In a documentary years later, it was noted that friend beat the addiction.
I wasn’t watching “Entertainment Tonight” at the time, or listening to any countdown shows on the radio, so I never discovered how “Toy Soldiers” did.
As it tutned out, it went all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and stayed there two weeks. It was Martika’s only number one single in the States.
Parting thoughts
The other day I had on Stingray Remember the ‘80s, a music channel on my cable TV package, and “Toy Soldiers” came on.
The other day I had on Stingray Remember the ‘80s, a music channel on my cable TV package, and “Toy Soldiers” came on.
It immediately took me back to that Summer of 1989, cruising down Calgary Trail, planning in my mind what I wanted on this massive burger I was about to have at Fuddruckers.
More than that, I remember the company of an old friend, who really played a special place in my life at a formative time.
“Won’t you come out and play with me.”
The line was fitting in the song, but it also described the part Bruce played in my life back then.
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