But maturity is a strange thing. Though in most cases I exhibit the actions that are suitable to that of an adult, I still maintain many traits that are characteristically childish. Or more appropriately, many of my interests still speak straight to my inner child. Although I feel I have changed much since I was a wee little one, I find I am still fascinated by things that peaked my interest when I was in grade six. A perfect example, cartoons. As a child growing up I lived for cartoons. Not just Saturday mornings either, I was also a big fan of the early morning weekday cartoons as well. I would digest hours and hours of cartoons from the likes of Rocket Robin Hood, Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam, The Super Friends, The Masters of the Universe, and Rubix the Amazing Cube. The funny thing is I haven't lost my appreciation for cartoons. Like most I enjoy the current prime time cartoon fare including the Simpsons and Futurama though I find it is sometimes hard to classify those as cartoons as they are clearly aimed for an adult audience. What I am talking about is a remaining affinity for classic cartoon shtick a la the Wacky Races or Cool McCool. Even in my adulthood I continue to carry the torch for these animated gems.
Take the show The Mighty Hercules…by far one of the most revered cartoons of my generation. Just classic stuff. First off who could forget that theme music? "Hercules, hero of song and story…Hercules, winner of ancient glory." Finally…a song I can be married too! This was clearly one of my favourites. The show revolved around the adventures of the god Hercules defender of justice who when putting on his magical ring would possess unspeakable strength. Every episode was basically the same; a creature or bad guy would pick on the small Greek kingdom of Calidon, thus inspiring Herc to come down from Mt. Olympus and go all god-like on their asses. As an adult now I think I flatter this cartoon most through poking fun of it. Like why did every beast sound exactly the same? Eooowaaeeccchhhh!!! Couldn't the people working on this cartoon have come up with at least two roar sounds for the monsters? Were they all tapped out after coming up with that catchy theme music? And as much as I love the big lug Herc, I have to ask why did he ever take the ring off? It was quite obvious he could never accomplish anything without it. There he would be after getting smacked around by Daedalus for a while digging into his pocket for the magic ring. "Allllright…not enough left in the old tank, looks like we're gonna need the ring again." Bless his heart for constantly wanting to test himself, but buddy leave the damn ring on. Strong…all the time. And why would the villains standby patiently and wait while Herc slowly went through his putting on the ring process? Do you remember how long it took him to do that? Putting the ring gently on the finger, clenching his fist oh so gently and then slowly raising his arm towards the heavens…it took like five minutes. I'd be like "shit man, he's going for the ring again…knock him out or something!" While we are on the topic of villains…what was the deal with the Mask? This was the dastardly dude that sported the Mask of Vulcan, which basically looked like the guy was wearing a steel garbage can with eyeholes on his head. Now the key to the mask of Vulcan was its possessor while wearing it would be invincible. Not a bad piece of headgear. However, Hercules had no problem whatsoever tipping this bucket off this hapless villain's head using a stick or a magnet every episode. I have one tip for the Mask…get a strap!!! A tiny piece of leather that you could fasten beneath your chin to ensure that this magical helmet wouldn't go flying off! A pretty easy solution. I mean, the mask makes you invincible…it's doing all the work, is it much to ask that you couldn't come up with a simple fastening device to keep the damn thing on? This is just common sense. Finally, Herc seemed like a pretty cool guy, must have done alright with the ladies, why the hell was he always hanging out with Newton? This is your best friend? Some annoying centaur that repeats himself all the time? Damn…was Herc a little shy or not very good at meeting people? You're a god Hercules, what are you doing spending time with this charity case Newton? Maybe there was something more to this little friendship between Herc and Newt then we were privileged to see?
But damn if I didn't love that cartoon…
Regardless of our age we should never stop appreciating those interests that spark our imagination. There are some hobbies or habits we will never lose entirely despite our so called maturity level. And we shouldn't feel we can't do or enjoy things just because we are adults now. How we do them or participate with them might change thanks to adulthood but we should never stop doing something we enjoy for fear that it is childish. Whether it's playing video games, collecting comic books, enjoying cartoons or whatever…as long as it continues to stir your interest then it matters not if it is labeled immature. We should only be as mature as we need to be. I never want to be SO mature that I ignore some of my particular passions. Forget about this behaviour intended for adults bullshit…I got a friend in Hercules. I'm glad…I'm glad…to have…to have…a friend…a friend….like Hercules…like Hercules.
Okay…maybe that was a bit immature?
…but that's just my opinion.
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