My mind wanders a lot, an old boss called me out all the time for daydreaming when I was supposed to be working. I'm not on the ball, at all, Paul. So it was no surprise to me on Friday in work to find myself at my computer thinking about Kevin's Dad.
Do you remember the TV show 'The Wonder Years'? Cuh! Look who I'm talking to, course ye do, the trials and tribulations of a young Kev Arnold struggling through adolescence whilst the Vietnam War bubbled threateningly in the background, the main conflict cleverly being that of family life through the eyes of a teen.
The character of Jack Arnold had a big impact on me as a young buck, he was the gruff patriarch of the family, the most touching moments of the programme being the times when Jack would show a tiny crack, a fissure in his mountainous range of emotional igneous rock and give Kevin the validation and approval he and his butthead brother so desperately sought.
I sometimes seek that approval too,(as we all do I'd imagine) from the Jack Arnold in my mind. That chastising mental totem that is quick to point out our flaws and mistakes in life, but sometimes, in rare moments will proffer a little bit of self congratulation.
This is what happened in work you see, Jack Arnold, the physical embodiment of this trait came into in my daydream as I sat nonchalently typing into some spreadsheet and complimented me in his own herdy-gerdy roundabout way:
"A real man gets a job, don't matter if he likes it, he goes out and provides for his family, puts food on the table. So suck it up. And get a haircut will ya, you goddamn bum."
So there you have it, Jack Arnold is proud that I'm doing laborious work instead of indulging my dreams, but hey, that's just Jackie for you and I'm a slave to his infrequent pep talks.
Also, I'll have a new special drawing tomorrow - just hafta colour it.
