There is an 80 ft. Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man standing outside your building. Your girlfriend is sleeping four feet above her cover. There is only one question that needs to be asked.

“Who you gonna call?” Ghostbusters.

“Ghostbusters” was the essence of childhood. I’m sure if I thought hard enough I could recite the entire theme song off the top of my head (try it at a party after a few … it’s fun).

Armed with my trusty PKE meter and “clean” “Ghostbusters” underwear, I dared to watch the movie with relentless enjoyment.

Even though I had seen it every day for the past week, it was still a highlight of my childhood summers.

Everybody has a movie from childhood that they can watch over and over without it becoming tiresome or boring. “Ghostbusters” was my movie.

Even at the height of the 1980’s cheesy special effects, the film and its comedy is brilliant. But who would of thought it would become iconic?

From action figures to toy proton throwers, everyone that caught “Ghostbusters” madness owned “Ghostbusters” merchandise. It was a godsend when “Ghostbusters” was released for Nintendo. Even though I’ve never seen anyone conquer more than a few levels, it was still a frequent rental.

My friends and I would constantly argue over the intricate details of which ghost-catching techniques worked and which ones didn’t.

Everyone my age was an expert on the subject, but when all the backyard/playground experts disagreed, ghostbusting technique was less a discussion and more a no-holds-barred, all-out wrestling match. And to the victor went the bragging rights.

“Ghostbusters” influenced every aspect of childhood development. It started with kids dreaming of sliding down fire poles. It evolved into living in old firehouses, pajama selection and birthday cake decorations.

The politics of bedtime were never the same after

the “Ghostbusters” era. “Ghostbusters” comforters and “Ghostbusters” pajamas were always a parental bargaining chip worth going to bed early for.

And there was nothing like waking up early Saturday mornings waiting for the cartoon to appear. Wasn’t childhood great?

The Ghostbusters were more than a fictional group of characters; they were a childhood daydream.

Now just think about the effect this had on life. What would the world be like if there had not been “Ghostbusters”?