When I was younger, I somehow got my hands on a small box of Dixon Invaders. Now, nearly everybody is familiar on some level with
Dixon Ticonderogas. They are visually synonymous with "No. 2 Pencil."
Dixon Invaders, on the other hand, seem to not exist. I suspect that the pencils I had were some kind of weird consequence of Dixon having purchased Wallace in 1982. The pencils I had, after all, did look a bit like the bastard children of the Ticonderoga and the #2
Wallace Invader. The ferrule was the shape of a Ticonderoga, but instead of green and yellow, the stripes were silver and blue--that is, the center stripe was blue (like that of the Wallace Invaders), and the flanking strips were silver (in color). Those were my favorite pencils (I love blue metal), and pretty much were immediately used up. I may have saved one because I was afraid I'd never be able to find them again (I was right!), since all the stores had were Ticonderogas (ugly!). Unfortunately that one was lost in the shuffle I call "life as a student." Ah, middle school... What was I thinking?
Anyway, I guess the point of this post is 1) to share the sadness that I will never again see this pencil (this isn't something I can *talk* to someone about, after all), and 2) so that there's some record of me having possessed these things. It's not proof, but I am claiming it right now: I once had Dixon Invaders.
And, really? Can any of you claim that, had you actually had these pencils, you would even have known?
I thought not. This is me. Deal with it.
