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Sunday, May 12, 2013

Mama, My Friend


First things first, I wanted to take the opportunity to wish every mother out there in the world a Happy Mother's Day!



I'm aware that depending on your country of birth, your Mother's Day festivities might occur a little bit earlier in the year, or a little bit later, but in Canada and the United States at least, the day falls on the second Monday in May.

(Or, anytime between May 8-14, if you want further clarification.)

Anyway, for today's blog, I decided to make the entire entry pink in commemoration of the big event. And, since Mother's Day always falls on a Sunday, I'm under extra pressure to come up with a suitable topic for the Sunday Jukebox.

Problem is, there's not a whole lot of songs out there that celebrate moms.

I thought about using the song “A Song for Mama” by Boyz II Men...until I remembered that I used the same song LAST Mother's Day. And, Tracy Bonham's “Mother Mother” just seems a tad bit...what's the word...inappropriate for the day.

That said, I did come up with a song to talk about today. And, well, it happens to be by the British girl group who irritatingly inserted the words “Girl Power” in every single conversation and interview they had.



The surprising thing for me is that this isn't the first time that I did an entry on the Spice Girls. I did a feature on them in December 2011 back in the days when I still did the “Across the Pond and Beyond” feature.

To say that I wasn't the biggest Spice Girls fan would be sort of an understatement. I didn't exactly despise them with the heat of a million suns though. I was just disinterested in them. That said, I will admit that there are a couple of songs of theirs that I don't mind that much, and for what it's worth, I think that once the band went their separate ways in the early 2000s, they were much stronger as their own individual units (I'm particularly looking at Emma “Baby Spice” Bunton and Melanie “Sporty Spice” Chisholm as my two examples here).

Still, the Spice Girls were hugely popular between 1996 and 2000, having several hit singles in both their native UK as well as the USA and Canada. After a seven-year-long hiatus, the band reunited in 2007 for about a year for one more tour, and most recently performed together at the 2012 Olympics Closing Ceremony in London.

And, for today's Sunday Jukebox feature, we're going to take a look at one of their many singles. Maybe this single wasn't as well known as “Wannabe”, “Spice Up Your Life”, or “2 Become 1”, but it's one of the best examples of a song honouring the spirit of Mother's Day that I can think of spur of the moment.



ARTIST: Spice Girls
SONG: Mama
ALBUM: Spice
DATE RELEASED: March 3, 1997
PEAK POSITION ON THE UK MUSIC CHARTS: #1

NOTE: “Mama” was, at least to my knowledge, never released in the United States. Though, I'm almost positive it was issued in Canada, as I remember seeing the music video on MuchMusic some fifteen years ago. Not sure how well it did here in Canada, though.



Whatever the case, this was a single that was released as the band's fourth single in March 1997 (funnily enough right around the time that the Spice Girls were beginning to invade American territory). Appropriately enough, the single's original release was timed with the United Kingdom's “Comic Relief” telethon, as well as the country's own version of Mother's Day, which is known as “Mothering Sunday” (which in case you're wondering falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent).

This song was also particularly special for the Spice Girls because it was their fourth consecutive single to reach the #1 position. This was a big deal because at the time, no other band had achieved that feat. And, this was despite the fact that the single at the time of its release received mixed, or mediocre reviews.

And, I can probably see why some people thought that about the single. It's one of those singles that is so cheesy that it could put a lactose-intolerant person in the hospital for a few hours! But, if you listen closely to the lyrics, you'll hear that they are quite deep and profound.

The song itself was written in a collaboration between the five members of the Spice Girls and their longtime songwriting partners Richard Stannard and Matt Rowe. According to an interview that Rowe gave around the time of the single's release, the song's concept was courtesy of Melanie “Scary Spice” Brown. The songwriting process consisted of Brown, Bunton, Chisholm, Victoria “Posh Spice” Addams-Beckham, and Geri “Ginger Spice” Halliwell going to different areas of the studio to jot down a little verse of the song, and then putting it all together with backing from a gospel choir for the song's chorus.

Interestingly enough, the songwriting for “Mama” came at a time in which Brown was going through a rough patch with her own mother. That being said, she also said that no matter how many battles you might get into with your mother throughout the years, she'll always be at your side and be there thick and thin.

And, well...I'd like to think that's true in a lot of ways. My own mother and I are for the most part quite close, but there are still some instances in which she can have me wanting to hop the next train out of town to get away from her nagging and complaining!

I mean, let's face it. We all have those moments.

That said, all of our mothers are getting older. And, sadly for some of us, the memories of our mothers are all that we have to hold on to. I know that there are times in which I get quite frustrated with my mother...and to be fair, there are probably times in which she has gotten equally frustrated with me! But, at the end of the day, we have always made up, and we have always kept that bond of love alive.



What makes the video for the single very cool are the five special guests who dropped by the Ealing, London studio where the clip was taped. Did you get a glimpse of the black and white snippits where there are women holding a picture of one of the Spice Girls? They happen to be the Spice Mamas!

No, seriously, all five mothers of the Spice Girls make an appearance in the music video. The photos that they hold correspond to the Spice Girl they gave birth to.

All five mothers also appear in the audience of the studio where the video was taped. You can easily point them out because they just happen to be the oldest people in the studio (the rest of the concert audience are made up of preteens and teenagers.)

That being said, the childhood montage which show all of the Spice Girls as real little girls playing together and performing? Sadly, those clips were not of the real Spice Girls. The Spice Girls did not know each other as children, as the group was formed in the mid-1990s. But, it was a nice added touch, even if the real story behind it wasn't exactly accurate.

Oh, and another interesting fact about “Mama” was that when it was released, it was released as a “Double A-Side”. The accompanying track, “Who Do You Think You Are” can be seen below.



And, despite the fact that the song didn't do so hot in Canada or the United States, the song was huge in the United Kingdom. I would actually think that part of the reason why “Mama” also sold well in the UK, but that's just a theory I had.

Anyway, in conclusion to this entry on “Mama”, I just wanted to once again wish all mothers in the world a very Happy Mother's Day. And, to my own mother...who in all likelihood will never read this entry as she is incredibly computer illiterate...I love you, and I hope that you enjoy your special day.

Thanks for reading everyone.  

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Celebrating Cartoon Moms


Today is the day before Mother's Day, and I thought that I would take the opportunity to prematurely wish everyone who is a mother a very happy Mother's Day.



And, because this weekend is all about celebrating mothers, grandmothers, and stepmothers all over the world, I thought that I would make today's blog entry mother themed as well.

Truth be told, in the world of cartoons and animated series, there have been dozens of cartoon moms introduced into our living rooms through the television set. Many of them are zany, crazy, kooky, and have voices that may appear as though they like to suck back the helium whenever nobody is around. But one thing that they all seem to have in common is the fact that they happen to be great moms.

Sure, each of them may have their very own distinct methods of parenting, and some of them might appear to know more about how to raise a child than others, but you know what? They did their best. And, as far as I could tell, their kids were all the better for it.

So, I thought that for this, the Saturday before Mother's Day, I would put some of these cartoon moms in the spotlight, talk a little bit about their personality traits, and how they were at raising children. Sometimes they slip up, and sometimes they might not have the right answer, but most of the time, they were heroes to their children.

So, let's start with one of the earliest animated moms of all time.



Wilma Flintstone was originally designed after the character of Alice Kramden from The Honeymooners (played by the delightful Audrey Meadows), and as a result, Wilma was portrayed as being strong-willed and level-headed, and is often chastising her husband Fred every time one of his schemes blows up in his face.

But when baby Pebbles is born, Wilma's personality softens somewhat, and she instantly becomes engrossed in her new role as stay-at-home mother. She also has help from her next door neighbour and best friend, Betty Rubble (who herself becomes a mother to Bamm-Bamm). Throughout the series, we see Wilma enjoying being a mom to Pebbles from infancy all the way to adulthood. And when Pebbles becomes a mother herself, Wilma embraces the fact that she has become a grandmother.

Really, Wilma Flintstone is the perfect example of a cartoon mom. She's passionate about making a happy home for her family, she is completely devoted to Pebbles, all the while maintaining her strong exterior and never back down attitude.



Next, we have the character of Mary Andrews. And many people might not know who Mary Andrews is. I can tell you that she happens to have red hair, bakes a lot, and these days balances a career with her homelife. But she wasn't always this way.

When her son, Archie Andrews came along, Mary doted on Archie...maybe sometimes a little too much. I mean, think about it, Mary Andrews always made sure that Archie was well-fed, she struggled (and more often than not lost) with Archie to make sure that he got to work on time, and in the early days of Archie comics, she was perfectly content with being the happy homemaker. It's only in recent years that Mary Andrews re-entered the work force as a part-time employee.

But here's the thing with Mary Andrews. Even though having a son like Archie Andrews can't be the easiest thing in the world, she really does love him. After all, he is her only child. And, Mary is also a great mom because she will usually be the first one to call Archie out on his bad behaviour (mostly treating Betty Cooper like yesterday's leftovers whenever Veronica Lodge batted her eyes). She's loving and caring, but at the same time not afraid to issue a dose of tough love every now and then. I think Archie was probably the better for it, anyway.



Since we're on the topic of Archie comics, I also want to single out Betty Cooper's relationship with her own mother, Alice (and, yes, Betty's mother's name really is Alice Cooper) for being one of the most touching mother-daughter relationships ever presented in comic history. There's one particular story that can be found in Betty's Diary #2 that showcases this bond brilliantly. It may seem like a typical mother-daughter day at the mall, but it evolves into something deeper.



Another brilliant example of a cartoon mother is the blue haired pork chop making lady known as Marge Simpson. And, to be completely honest with all of you, my own mother reminds me a lot of Marge (well, minus the blue hair of course...though my mom did rock the beehive hairstyle back in the day. No pictures though, she would kill me if I did post one!)

Seriously, Marge is one hundred per cent devoted to her family. And, you have to give her a lot of credit. Not only does she have to rear three young children, but if you take into account that her husband Homer has done some questionable things in his own life, it seems like Marge has four kids to keep an eye on!



But, she does it all. She makes sure that all of her kids have their lunches without pimentos. She microwaves their underwear on cold days so that they are comfortable. She even manages to find a way to cook an entire four course meal in just minutes! This is a woman who loves her family.

The only negative thing about Marge is that more often than not, her family doesn't seem to be appreciative of everything that she does for them. Marge literally bends over backwards to want to spend time with her family, and more often than not, they give her the shaft. I mean, granted, sometimes Marge goes a little bit overboard when it comes to protecting her family, but her intentions are always good.

And, whenever someone has the audacity to mess with her family, the claws come out! Bonus points for Marge in that regard.



Another woman who really deserves a medal for motherhood was Alice Mitchell, the mother of Dennis the Menace. It's a wonder that her hair didn't go prematurely gray with all of the antics that her son got into.



Thing is that Dennis the Menace was not a bad boy. He was really one of the sweetest kids in the whole world. He would do almost anything for anybody. The problem was that more often than not, his solutions ended up creating more problems...especially for next door neighbour George Wilson!

Regardless, Dennis was always the apple of his mother's eye, and although she did have to dole out some punishment for his worst behaviour, most of the time, she kind of overlooked it, believing that Dennis would eventually grow out of his mischievous phase.



You know, sometimes a woman doesn't necessarily have to be a mom in order to show motherly tendencies. Does anyone remember the television show, “Muppet Babies”? In that series, you saw the junior versions of Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, and Animal playing together in a nursery. And, the head of the nursery was a woman named “Nanny”. 



Of course, Nanny's face was never seen. All we saw were great big green and white socked legs. But, that was all that we really needed to see because we could use our imaginations as to what we thought she looked like. I always saw her as a grandmother type figure, but for all I knew, she could have been a Muppet!

The fact that Barbara Billingsley (who played one of the first sitcom moms, June Cleaver on “Leave it to Beaver”) voiced her was an added touch.

Nanny was cool though. She popped in every now and again just to see how the toddler Muppets were doing, but she also took care of them by bringing them snacks, listening to them talk about things. She even went out of her way to repair Gonzo's stuffed chicken when it got torn accidentally. What a great lady!

Of course, sometimes there are instances in which the mother figure is not around. In most cases, we're lead to assume that they live in another town, or they are just simply never seen. It was a bold move to actually kill off a cartoon character for good, especially a mother figure.



But yet that was exactly what happened in the television series, Jem, when the mother of Jerrica and Kimber Benton was killed in a plane crash. Of course, those of you who were regular watchers of the show know that the likeness of Jerrica and Kimber's mother was programmed into the supercomputer known as Synergy (designed by their father Emmett). And, as many people know, Synergy was the machine behind the creation of Jem and the Holograms.

But Jerrica really wanted to do something special to honour her mother, especially since the last conversation they had was one filled with anger and hurt feelings. She tried to get the master tapes of a live performance that her mother did just before she died, but when Eric Raymond destroyed them, she thought everything was lost. But then the Holograms believed that Emmett had programmed the concert into Synergy's memory banks, and when the accessed Synergy's memory, they found the video of the concert, which they then released on a record.



I guess you could say that “Starlight” was the first example of a YouTube video! Not bad, considering that it predated YouTube by about fifteen years!

Those are just a few of the cartoon moms that I can recall off the top of my head. Now, I turn the discussion over to you.

Who are some of your favourite cartoon moms? Is it one that I already mentioned, or is it someone else? I'd love to hear from you!

Friday, May 10, 2013

Roseanne


This is the second of five entries that will feature sitcom mothers in the spotlight for the month of May, and looking back on the two years that I have written this blog, it boggles my mind that I have not done a single blog entry on today's show. It was a show that ran for almost a whole decade, and for years was ranked as one of ABC's highest rated sitcoms. And, the star of the show was a female comedienne who had quick wit, fantastic comic timing...and, a little bit of controversy on the side.

But, hey. Controversy sometimes adds an extra bit of flavour to otherwise bland television programs.

Not saying that this sitcom was by any means, bland. The show frequently pushed buttons, and got people talking. Many people said that the family that was featured in the show was the perfect representation of the average blue-collar family. As someone who grew up in a similar sort of background, I could definitely see some similarities between my family and the family featured in today's blog spotlight. Heck, even the birth order of the children on the show was the same as it was in my own family!

So, I hope you'll join me on a trip to the fictional community of Lanford, Illinois and drop by the Connor family residence. Just try not to be fearful of the lady of the Connor manor. She may appear to be boisterous, sarcastic, and a complete battle-axe, but trust me...she's a really great mom when she needs to be.



Today we're going to shine the spotlight on the television sitcom “Roseanne”, which starred Roseanne Barr Pentland Arnold Thomas. But, you can call her Roseanne, if you like. And, before she decided to go nuts, she starred in one of the most successful sitcoms of the 1990s. Seriously, when the show debuted on October 18, 1988, it didn't take long for the show to rocket to the top of the ratings, actually ranking at the top of the Neilsen ratings scale during 1989-1990. And, even though the show eked out a nine season run before concluding its run on May 20, 1997, the finale attracted a respectable sixteen million viewers.



So, the premise of Roseanne deals with the trials and tribulations of an American working class family, which at the time of its 1988 debut was quite daring. I mean, let's face it. When you go back in time 25 years, one thing that you might have seen in sitcoms back then was the fact that most sitcom families were at least living a middle class lifestyle. The parents all had good jobs, they lived in beautiful homes, the women were clad in size 4 outfits, and everyone was decked out in the finest 1980s fashions.



Not so with Roseanne. Roseanne was a heavy-set, trash-talking, flannel wearing kind of gal who lived in a house that wasn't very fancy, but looked surprisingly cozy.

Because Roseanne was set in a small town in which the vast majority of the residents had to work jobs in the manufacturing and retail fields, Roseanne and her husband Dan (John Goodman) worked whatever jobs they could to provide for their kids.

In the nine years that the show was on, Roseanne worked a variety of different jobs. She started off the show working for a plastics manufacturer, but when she walks off the job following a battle with a new foreman, she took on a variety of other odd jobs, including telemarketing, secretarial work, bartending, and sweeping hair from the floor of a salon. She also works as a waitress at a diner within a department store, and when that business folds, she teams up with her sister Jackie (Laurie Metcalf), her mother Bev (Estelle Parsons), and her friend Nancy Bartlett (Sandra Bernhard) to open up the Lanford Lunch Box.

Wow...from a line worker at a plastics company to owning her own business. Now that is a real role model for working class mothers all over the world, wouldn't you say? I guess it shows that with enough determination, anybody can open up their own business.

But hey, the fact that Roseanne was willing to go out into the workplace and try new things just showed us how awesome she was. Sure, she could have stayed home and did the household duties while Dan brought home the bacon, but as we saw on the show, sometimes this wasn't always feasible. After all, Dan seemingly had just as hard of a time keeping a job as well. Truth be told, I don't think that Roseanne would have been content being a stay-at-home mom.

In fact, the show was also unique in that Roseanne was always portrayed as a strong matriarchal figure. If anyone wore the pants in the Connor household, it sure as heck wasn't Dan most of the time! Roseanne ruled the roost, and that was exactly the way that she liked it.



Of course, Roseanne's children caused her many frustrations as well, which likely aided in sculpting her overly cynical personality. Son D.J. (Michael Fishman) was the youngest child of the Connor family for many years (prior to the birth of youngest Connor child Jerry Garcia towards the end of the series), and he often got busted for mischievous behaviour and playing tricks on his older sisters. Believe me, I could relate to D.J. Connor a lot. In fact, Michael Fishman and I were born the same year, so it was kind of like watching myself on screen sometimes!



Middle child Darlene (Sara Gilbert) could be considered a junior version of Roseanne). She was loud, she was crass, at times she got into screaming matches with her siblings, and she would rather be seen in football jerseys than sundresses. Darlene does have her good moments though. Contrary to what some might think, she actually acts as the voice of reason within the sometimes dysfunctional Connor family. She also has a keen interest in art, and her dream throughout the whole series is to get out of Lanford so she can make a career out of her art in a larger city.

And, eldest child Becky was the child that probably gave Roseanne and Dan the most ulcers. On the surface, she did seem to be the perfect child. She was intelligent, she was beautiful, and she had the whole world on her shoulders...until she met her boyfriend Mark (Glenn Quinn), left home and eloped in Minnesota.



Oh yeah, there was that annoying thing with Becky being played by two different actresses. For the first four seasons of the show, Becky was played by actress Lecy Goranson. Then beginning with season five, Canadian actress Sarah Chalke took over for the next three years. Lecy Goranson returned to the show for season eight, but on episodes in which she wasn't available, Sarah Chalke filled in. Finally by season nine, Lecy had left once more and Sarah Chalke filled in for the remainder of the series.

No wonder Becky caused headaches for Roseanne and Dan. You never knew which one would show up!

CONFESSION: While I liked both Becky's, I actually grew to like Sarah Chalke's portrayal slightly better than Lecy Goranson's. Maybe it's because Sarah brought a little bit more warmth to the character. I could be the only one who feels this way though.

But you know, I have to give Roseanne Connor a lot of credit. She did her very best to see that her children were fed, clothed, and had a warm place to sleep...even if they didn't necessarily show their gratitude all that much.

Like...take D.J. Connor for example. Roseanne sometimes had to tread very lightly around D.J., as he was somewhat sensitive. When Darlene told D.J. that he was an accident, Roseanne eased his worry by telling him that he was a “surprise” (which prompted Dan to admit bluntly that Darlene was a disaster!).

And there was one episode in which D.J. stole a car and Roseanne reacted by giving him a spanking, which opened up a huge discussion about how Roseanne's father used to discipline her and Jackie the same way. It also opened up a frank discussion about abuse in the household, and the way that Roseanne and D.J. talked it out was not only groundbreaking, but honest. I thought that it was an ingenious way to tackle the subject, and Roseanne's remorse over what happened showed exactly how much she loved her son.

Roseanne also had a rather difficult relationship with Becky as well. In many ways, Roseanne and Becky had kind of a love/hate relationship, especially in the days when Lecy Goranson played her. Becky and Roseanne were like oil and water, clashing every step of the way. And, when Becky began dating Mark, it only served to increase the tension between mother and daughter. Take a look at this instance in which Becky wants birth control.


But here's the thing. Roseanne was there for Becky in many ways. Roseanne tried to help Becky deal with the embarrassment of passing gas during a speech she was making at the school. It didn't exactly work out all that well, but at least she tried. When Becky elopes with Mark, it takes Roseanne some time to adjust to the news, but she eventually welcomes Mark into the family, no questions asked. And, Roseanne is very supportive of Becky when she begins to have second thoughts about the life she has chosen for herself. Sure, Becky and Roseanne's relationship may have been a bit rocky, but deep down inside, they love each other.

And, you can also say the same about Darlene. Part of the reason why Roseanne and Darlene butted heads so much was because they were too much alike. And, Darlene certainly caused Roseanne stress, from handing in a term paper that Becky actually wrote to arguing with her in almost every single episode of the earlier seasons.

However, Darlene's boyfriend David (Johnny Galecki) helped bring mother and daughter closer together, oddly enough. It all began when Darlene spent the day at David's house and witnessed his mother being abusive towards him. Darlene was genuinely concerned about David's welfare, and asked Roseanne if David could move in with them. Of course, Roseanne was completely against the idea, and refused to hear Darlene out.

That is until Roseanne saw how bad things were for herself...



Needless to say, David moved in with the Connors, became an honourary family member, and enjoyed an on-again, off-again romance with Darlene for the remainder of the series. And, I should note that Roseanne's kindness towards David seemed to rub off on Darlene, as their fights were less and less frequent.

Maybe David was the Prozac that kept the family together.

I'm not exactly saying that Roseanne Connor would ever win the “Mother of the Year” award, but given the circumstances, she tried her best. None of her children ended up dying, or getting severely punished by the law. They actually ended up somewhat normal! And, I credit that to the fact that Roseanne laid her feelings out on the line, and was open and honest about everything. She never sugarcoated anything. Instead, she offered up doses of tough love and sarcasm to teach morals and ethics...and for the most part, that bizarre formula worked splendidly.

But, of course, there were some lapses in judgment along the way. And to close off this entry, I thought I'd post one final clip of one of Roseanne's...um...less than finest moments.



Oh, and just to keep in the spirit of Mother's Day, click on this link to watch the episode where five classic sitcom moms pay Roseanne a visit! 

Thursday, May 09, 2013

The Eternal Dream Weaver


I'm going to get to today's Thursday Diary entry in a moment, but before I do, I want to offer up a brief note regarding the passing of a legend in daytime television.



Yesterday morning, the world said goodbye to actress Jeanne Cooper, who died at the age of 84 after being in intensive care over the last few weeks. Most of you probably know her best as Katherine Chancellor from the long running series “The Young and the Restless”. For nearly 40 years, she was a mainstay on that serial, and many of us grew up watching her on television over the years, whether we were soap opera fans or not.

Her passing is a true loss to the daytime community, and she will be forever missed. Sympathies go out to her children, Corbin, Caren, and Collin, as well as the many family members, friends, and co-workers who were lucky enough to have known her.

Okay...so for today's Thursday Diary entry, I'm going to be talking a little bit about dreams. And one could say that Jeanne Cooper completely lived her dream. She had a career that lasted longer than the average person, she loved what she did, and she was rewarded with at least a couple of Daytime Emmy Awards for her contributions to the soap opera genre.



In Jeanne's case, she pursued and lived her dream. And, that's what this blog entry is all about. Dreams. But, while Jeanne's dream of becoming an actress was achieved...my initial dream changed along the way. Lemme explain.

May 9, 2013

I don't care what people say. Everyone has dreams.

We all have the desire to do extraordinary things with our lives, and we all have the need to do something in the world that will make others remember your name. Maybe you want to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Maybe you want to discover a cure for a deadly disease. Or, maybe you simply want to bring a child into the world so that you can enjoy being a mom or a dad. Really, whatever your dreams are in this world, I hope that all of you go for them.

But while we're on the subject of dreams, I should note that sometimes dreams can change as we get older. And, believe me, it's perfectly normal. After all, just because our dream might be to own every teddy bear in the world at the age of five might may not be feasible to have at the age of forty-five!

This is the story of how my dreams have changed over the course of my lifetime.

By now, I'm sure that most of you know what my current dream is. After all, I wouldn't have kept a blog going for almost two years running if I didn't have some passion for it. For as long as I can remember, I've always had a keen interest in writing, but it's only been within the last couple of years that I thought about making it the ultimate career goal.

Over the years, my dreams prior to becoming a world famous writer were quite different. Some of the dreams I had were kind of linked to my current dream, while others were completely different.

So, sit back and stay tuned. You're about to get a little bit more insight into my life and times, and you'll also learn why some dreams that I had were meant to be left unfulfilled.



DREAM #1 – To be a doctor.

Believe it or not, there was once a time in which I wanted to pursue a career in medicine or at the very least in the pharmaceutical industry. I think that may have been spawned by watching one too many episodes of the Cosby Show, where Cliff Huxtable made a really decent living for himself as a doctor.

But it was also right around that age that I began to discover that I have a very low tolerance for blood and gore. It actually took me about a season and a half before I actually could sit down and watch a full episode of CSI because the autopsy scenes and gory murder re-enactments made me physically feel sick to my stomach. These days, I'm more or less desensitized to gory images on television and in film, but I know that I couldn't stomach performing operations on people. So, that was one dream that was completely dashed.



DREAM #2 – To be a teacher.

Actually, this is a dream that is kind of still in the maybe pile, though admittedly at this time, I am not in the frame of mind to actively pursue it. I think my dream of becoming a teacher was born right around my elementary school days. I always used to enjoy playing school with my older sibs, as well as inside the classroom on indoor recesses. I suppose that as I grew older, my desire to become a teacher was fueled solely on making the classroom a better place for a child to learn. I had quite a few teachers that seemed to be completely ill-equipped to handle certain problems that students had in the class, and I was determined to become a teacher so I could make a difference in the lives of children. I even did a brief volunteering stint at my old elementary school between 2003-2004, which taught me a lot about how challenging it could be to teach a class of 25 or more students.

To be honest with you, the only reason why I have my dream of being a teacher on the backburner instead of ditching it entirely is because I still believe that I could find a way to make it happen. It just might not be in the setting of a public school classroom. I have the firm belief that everyone has the ability to teach others a variety of skills in any setting, and maybe I have that ability as well. I just haven't found it yet.

DREAM #3: To become the Prime Minister of Canada.

This was a rather lofty goal that I had in my mind when I was around thirteen years old. A lofty goal that I lost interest in very quickly. Let's just say that I am definitely not the right person to run an entire country, nor do I believe in the whole idea of negative campaign ads. I'd rather hear more about what candidates will actually do.



In fact, I'll offer up a confession. Whenever I go out to vote in an election, I purposely vote for the candidate who has the smallest smear campaign.

Anyway, what was I talking about again? Oh, yeah...dreams.



DREAM #4 – To become the next Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw, or Peter Jennings.

Ah, now this is an interesting one. My dream of going into a career in journalism was born approximately fifteen years ago, when I was sixteen, seventeen. My high school was one that had almost every possible extracurricular activity known to man. Math Club, Key Club, heck, there was probably a club about clubs for all I knew! The only thing my school lacked was a student run newspaper, which sucked because that may very well have been the only activity that I would have been passionate enough to take part in.

When I went away to school, and the opportunity came to write for a campus newspaper, I immediately jumped at the chance. I even made communications my major in university! That's how passionate I was about becoming a journalist.

Unfortunately, if you click here, you'll see that my dream kind of hit a roadblock. It was a combination of being screwed over by the organization that ran the student newspaper, as well as not meeting the required grades to stay in my program. In my case, the drive was there, but not the timing.

It's just as well, though. I still have some people telling me that I could have a great career as a journalist, and that I should pursue it, but the more that I think about it, I don't think I want it as bad as I initially did. Being a journalist does allow you to travel the world...but in a lot of cases, you're visiting places affected by war, or natural disaster, or something else that is devastating. Not exactly something that I would be emotionally equipped to handle. I know that to some extent, journalists are supposed to remain impartial at all times, and that would be absolutely difficult for me to do, as I do have some rather strong opinions about a lot of topics. I would find it extremely difficult to not become emotionally attached to heartbreaking stories. Some reporters have the robotic personalities to make a career out of sharing the news, but I can't be that bland.

And, don't even get me started on my opinions regarding the paparazzi. You really don't want me to blow up in this blog, do you?

(Well, okay, maybe some of you do. Today won't be the day though.)

Truth be told, I think I would be a better columnist than a news reporter.

And, that leads to my current dream of being a writer. I love expressing my thoughts in a way that captivates people, makes people laugh, cry, or think about things they never considered before. I get a high out of being able to share my innermost thoughts through words, and I am better at expressing myself through pen and paper than I am with my tongue. And, at some point, I do want to have a career doing what I love.

At this point, I'm not exactly sure how I can bring my love of writing into the Garden Centre area...but I suppose I can build my vocabulary of words used to describe flowers...if ever the opportunity does arise.

I suppose in some way, my love for writing has formed the base for all of the other dreams that I had over the years. In order to be a great journalist, you have to write the articles published in the paper, or the copy notes that you read off at the anchor desk. In order to be a great teacher, you have to have a good grasp of the English (or whatever language you speak) in order to do the best possible job educating students. While the ability to write isn't really necessary to become a doctor, I would imagine that some instances of writing are needed if you're putting together a medical presentation or a seminar. And, let's face it...how can you be a politician if you can't write a decent speech whenever the need arises?




I guess the point I'm trying to make is that we all have dreams...and sometimes the dreams change. But, if you have a solid base on which all your dreams are born from, then keep chasing those rainbows and hold on to those dreams. Who knows? Maybe a dream that you didn't know you had will come true!

Wednesday, May 08, 2013

The Shackles of Skipping Ropes


I'm not sure what it is that is making me commit myself to so many events, but lately I've been finding a need to get more involved with the community through charity events and seminars.

For instance, here are just a few of the things that I have gotten involved in over the last few years.

I've participated in the Walk for Miracles for a three year period between 2009 and 2011 to raise money for the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (or CHEO as it is affectionately known as). Unfortunately, I was unable to participate in the 2012 edition, as I could not get the time off of work to do so.

I'm going to be taking part in the 2013 Relay for Life event in my hometown beginning June 14 and ending June 15. Let's see...walking around a track for a grand total of 12 hours straight without any sleep? I suppose that I could make it happen.

(Take that, all you gym teachers who kept giving me a C- in class, and telling me that I would never become an athlete!)

I also took part in a bowling tournament for CHEO a few years ago, and despite the fact that I bowled one of the lowest scores out of all, it was a fun experience. Also see the 2012 Bowling Event that I took part in for Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

You know, I have to tell you something. Community involvement is quite rewarding. And, you know, I'm almost kicking myself that I waited so long to do my part for events like the Relay for Life, the Walk for Miracles, and other events. I really should have gotten involved in community fundraising events a lot earlier in my life, and I really have no explanation as to why this is. But, I suppose that I am making up for lost time now, and that's all that matters.

Truth be told, I did a little bit of fundraising in elementary school as well. You know those little booklets that you would get every holiday season filled with samples of wrapping paper, as well as brochures for chocolates, ceramic figurines, and other Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa goodies? Lucky for me, I had a lot of relatives who loved stuff like that. And, in turn, those people knew people who loved stuff like that! Of course, there were prizes given out as an incentive for those who raised the most money for the school, so that helped. And, for about five years running, I ranked within the Top 10 for most dollars raised.

(Well, barring that one year in which the teacher forbid me from doing fundraising. But, I've already talked about that story ad nauseum. No need to revisit that chapter today.)

There is, however, one charity event that took place at school that I never took part in.

It was an event that the vast majority of my classmates took part in, but I never did. It was an event in which everyone that took part had a lot of fun, but I couldn't find it in myself to join in the fun. In a surprising twist, for an art project that I did for school in the sixth grade, I actually designed a poster for this charity event which was framed and hung in the student art gallery, and despite all this, I still did not have the heart to sign up for the event!

You see, the event required the people who participated to perform a repetitive motion for several hours, and the money that they raised for doing this activity went towards the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. A noble cause indeed. And, to sweeten the deal, depending on how much money a child raised, they could win a prize pack with items designed to help a child get more physical activity. Again, a noble cause.



So, why did I not join? Simple. I couldn't skip rope to save my life.



The event is known as “Jump Rope For Heart”, and it has been an annual tradition in elementary schools for as long as I can remember. Every year, kids would gather in their school gymnasiums (or playgrounds if the weather was warm enough) and skip, skip, skip with a skipping rope. The more they skipped, the healthier they became.

But, as someone who admittedly lacked coordination and agility in his youth (complicated by the fact that my feet were slightly deformed with my inability to walk flat-footed for the first eleven years of my life), skipping rope was hard. I honestly only remember owning one skipping rope in my entire life, and I didn't even use it for skipping. I even owned one of those Skip-It toys (I requested one for my 9th birthday after seeing the commercial on television and thinking that it looked easier than I thought), and by the end of the summer, it was stuffed in a corner, collecting dust.

I was never really any good at gym class, despite my best efforts. I was a chubby tall kid who simply couldn't move as quickly as the other smaller kids in my class. Oh, sure, I did my very best, but my best simply wasn't good enough. I was almost always the last kid picked for the team, and if we were playing dodgeball, I was almost always the first one knocked out.

(I was tall and chubby. I was an easy target.)

Still, there were some gym classes that were better than others. Whenever they brought out those wooden scooters with the wheels on the bottom, it was a great gym day. Whenever they brought out the broomball nets and equipment, it was a great gym day. And, whenever they brought out the bowling balls and pins, it was a great gym day...

...well, aside from that incident in fourth grade when a kid whipped the ball at my hand and broke my pinky finger.



But when the teacher brought out the bin filled with skipping ropes, I absolutely cringed. I hated skipping.

For one, trying to find a way to get the rope to move at the right speed and frequency so that you could skip continuously was a science. It's actually a theory of physics, but I don't really want to get into which one it is because A) I don't want to bore you, and B) I'm actually worse at understanding physics than I am skipping rope.

Needless to say, I never did quite get that rhythm going exactly the way I wanted it. I couldn't even do one full skip. Either I got tangled up in the rope, or I would trip over the rope and fall on the floor.

It really made me feel a little bit insecure, when I stop and think about it. I was having a lot of problems with the skipping rope, but nobody else did. Everyone else could skip rope without any problems whatsoever. The fact that I couldn't made me feel bad that I could not do an activity that everyone else could.

But don't get me wrong. I did give jump ropes the good old...erm...second grade try. It was just one of the things that I couldn't do. Not everyone is good at everything in the world, and that's something that as an adult, I completely understand. As a kid however, it was something that was really hard to swallow. Every kid strives to be the best at everything they do. Or, at the very least, they want to be in the position where they may not be the best, but are far from being the worst. Nobody wants to be known as the worst anything.

And yet, I was the worst jump roper.

So, you can maybe understand why I was so against signing up for the Jump Rope For Heart event every year while I was in elementary school. I didn't want to sign up for the event only to be the one kid in the whole school who couldn't skip rope. Why would I subject myself to that kind of humiliation?

It actually wasn't until recently that I looked back on the whole thing and realized just how much I cheated myself out of the opportunity.

Okay, so my skipping abilities were in the range between “Rotten” and “Don't Quit Your Day Job”. That still didn't mean that I wasn't welcome to come out and show my support for the event. Sure, I likely couldn't skip as fast as some of the other kids (or at all), but it still didn't mean that I couldn't try. Who knows? Maybe some of the kids would have taken pity on me and attempted to try and teach me the finer art of rope skipping.

Unfortunately for me, those Jump Rope For Heart events were opportunities that were forever lost, and I can't go back in time to fix that.

But I still have the ability to make up for that with future events. And, believe me, the Relay for Life is one such event that will force me to be at my best physical shape. But, you know something? Whether I last the entire twelve hours, or whether I can only make it twelve minutes, at least I know that I will have given it my all for a noble cause. And, I won't have to worry about making a fool out of myself, because I will be doing it alongside other people who have also made a commitment to the cause!

Though, I must make one confession before I end this note off. I'm nearly 32, and I STILL can't use a skipping rope! Good thing the Relay for Life doesn't use skipping ropes!