(Damn. On Sunday night, when I started putting this entry together, I went to a cute little site called bunnyherolabs.com, where I adopted a very cute little penguin, whom I colored purple. His name, which you would now be seeing if the site still worked, was Harold. I wouldn't mention it at all, except the rest of the entry has a lot to do with it. The cute little bunny at Suburban Island isn't working, either, which is how I just found out that my penguin is unavailable. Bummer.Maybe he'll show up again, so I'll leave the code in.)
For Pieces of You
If I were a cartoon character, I would not be a purple penguin, although I have just virtually adopted one named Harold. What is a cartoon, anyway?
The first cartoons I remember are Crusader and Rags, Tom Terrific, and the legions of mice in what I think were called the Farmer Gray cartoons. I watched the Farmer Grays every single morning; they fascinated and terrified me. I adored Crusader and Rags and learned to love both history and cleverness from them. If I could have been a cartoon then, though, I would have been Tom. He was not so much a fleshed out character as he was a collection of moving lines, saving the world in his funnel hat, and of course, in black and white. His cartoons were shown on Captain Kangaroo, so that was cool, and he had the best dog in the world, The Mighty Manfred. I always wanted a dog. Tom was an excellent cartoon character to want to be.
Later childhood was filled with a whole lot of Hanna-Barbera, and even though I was passionate about Quick Draw McGraw, I never so much wanted to be him. Beany and Cecil were pretty freaky, too. Popeye was funny, but be Popeye? Or Olive Oyl? I don't think so. And I never thought of Mickey Mouse as a cartoon character so much as some entity that lived and breathed somewhere. I did meet him in person, after all.
If I were a cartoon character, I would probably be Marge Simpson. I relate pretty strongly to Marge.
Curiously, though unexpectedly, in the course of writing this entry, I have come to remember the cartoon character I always wanted to be. When I adopted the penguin I made him purple, of course, and said idly aloud "I'm supposed to name him. What's a good name?" And my K, sitting in the room with me and known for coming up with names for every doll, pumpkin, and creature instantly, replied "Harold." So I named him Harold.
When I was very small, I was at the movies once, and the short they showed before the double feature was a cartoon based on a book. I had never seen the book, not then, although I have owned a well-worn copy of it for many years now. I first met this character as a cartoon, and I think that he is the cartoon character I have secretly always longed to be.
His name is Harold. The name of the cartoon was Harold and the Purple Crayon.
What's better than creating your own world and making it real? What's better than being fearless, and resourceful, and clever?
There's a new Harold cartoon circulating on HBO these days, but it's crap. The original was just the book, animated. If you've never met him, you should.
Harold.
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I'm watching K of Q
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