Thomas Cook is 73-years-old, but he is a young boy at heart.
And he has built up a collection of Hess Toy Trucks, one truck at a time, for 50 Christmases.
When Thomas was 24, his wife, Carol, gave him a Hess Green Tanker Trailer for Christmas. "Every boy likes toys," Cook told ABC News.
Every year, as Christmas came closer, Carol would start hunting for a new truck at the Hess stations. "She would go out there and find them. They were widely popular," Thomas said to ABC News.
"They were very hard to get back in the day and she loved shopping for these," Thomas said. "I would play with them under the tree. It was fun and it signified Christmas."
As the years went on and Thomas and Carol became grandparents, the Hess Trucks became fancier. Thomas' grandson, Tom, helps him find hidden features. "I wouldn't expect that by twisting the driver's head the sirens would turn on," Thomas told ABC News.
In 1964, gas stations started selling Hess Toy Trucks during the holidays and this year marks the trucks' 50th anniversary. It started as a thank you to customers from Leon Hess, the founder of Hess Oil. The first Hess Toy Truck was an original gas tanker replica.
A full collection of Hess Trucks would consist of 44 full-size trucks and 17 mini trucks.
Now, Carol doesn't have to go far from home while she shops for Thomas' next truck - she buys them online.
Thomas' favorite is the 1986 Hess Fire Truck Bank - perhaps because his father was a captain in the Jersey City Fire Department. Thomas' older and younger brothers are fire chiefs in towns close to Nutley, N.J., where Thomas and Carol live. "There's fireman's blood in the family but I didn't have it," Thomas told ABC News.
What truck will Thomas get on Christmas morning?
He told ABC News: "I don't know if Santa is bringing me one this year."
Hopefully, Thomas is on Santa's "nice" list.
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