Tell 'em Large Marge Sent cha!

It's been 16 years since Pee Wee Herman was arrested for not so public display of gross-ness. This isn't some plea to have him back on the air, because its been too long and we are all too used to the images of the old Pee Wee, and it wouldn't be fair to anyone to have a 2 times as old Pee Wee back on the air. It'd be like asking Paula Abdul to make more records. However, I would personally like to apologize Pee Wee for the country disowning him and continuing to embrace other celebrities which are even more hazzerdous to our children. The "fart in the mitten" group has been just as dangerous to our young people, and yet we still allow them to make records, tv shows, and breathe air. Drunk driving arrests, public drug use, foul language and attire, etc. The athletes in this country sanction dog fights, use steroids, hit their wives, and shoot guns outside night clubs. Rap artists get arrested for child pornography, sing about assualt and murder and getting wasted all night long. All of which are exposed to our children on a daily, if not hourly basis. But Pee Wee who was trying to have some fun on himself, by himself, is the one we kick outta Hollywood?

Have I written something like this about Pee Wee before? Or have I just thought about it before? I'm not sure, I'm often confused between the things I think and the things I've said. I blame my mother and old age, but either way, it should be said again. This is unfair that one of the few good parts of my childhood was taken away from me. Am I saying to restrict the access of people like bad athletes, musicians, and actors to our children? No; I have never been one to have a restrictive personality. That always has been and always should be a parents job. My position is, lets make sure we don't make this hastey mistake again. If we all thought about it a little bit more, I am sure that we would not treat Pee Wee this way a second time. Hopefully, his plight has taught us all a lesson about what is really damaging to our children and what isn't. Would you rather have your children practicing masturbation or assaulting people/taking serious drugs/drinking underage? Which of these is uncontrollable? I think we all know the answer.

Why do I love Pee Wee so much you ask? Well, Pee Wee was the one who taught me to look deeper into art. You see, Pee Wee used to make me uncomfortable. Probably what made him seem so damaging to the powers that be. He made weird faces, had a weird voice, had some disturbing images, intense situations. He gave me the creeps to tell you the truth, but I was convinced that I should watch anyway; I don't know why. Maybe it was because it was on TV, the same reasons people buy rotiseree machines and magic mops. Never the less, the more I watched, the more I enjoyed his subtle hints at doing the right thing. Mostly the lesson of accepting people for who they were, not who they were not. Something you couldn't pick up from just browsing the show. Like only listening to Radiohead one time through. Chairry, Randy, Cowboy Curtis were all different, but all welcome inside the playhouse. The most important thing was having fun, and having fun that wouldn't hurt anyones feelings. Being a good person who was true to himself and to his friends, that would always look for the good in people before looking at what was different.

Maybe Pee-Wee could teach todays society a lesson. I know I still need Pee-Wee's guidance as I often find myself judging people before I know them, looking poorly upon people whose values don't match my own (See above). Maybe you find yourself doing the same things as me? It's okay to admit that maybe you have been doing things wrong, and to look inside your feelings for what type of person you want to be. Maybe, you aren't doing as nicely as you thought you were? One thing you can be sure of, is no matter who you are and what you have done, as long as you want to have fun, be good, and treat people with respect; you're welcome inside the playhouse. That, and always ALWAYS, protect your bicycle.

"I'm just trying to illustrate that it's okay to be different—not that it's good, not that it's bad, but that it's all right. I'm trying to tell kids to have a good time and to encourage them to be creative and to question things" -Paul Ruebens