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My on again, off again houseguest (and original resident of the pink room) Kissy has been staying with me for a few days. I awoke this morning to find her sprawled (no surprise) on the [most amazing] red couch watching Saturday morning cartoons. It was as if we had been transported in time a few years. Okay, in my case, maybe 20.

She was watching the Smurfs! Now, back in the day, I didn't have the attention span to watch 1.5 hours of one television show. I don't care how long the individual segments were. (Side note: does anyone remember the "One to Grow On" commercial things that used to come on at the end of every NBC cartoon? They would show a kid doing something bad. Cut to commercial. Then they'd come back, the kid would learn a lesson, and they'd end it with, "And that's one to grow on." Of course, I loved those.)

Here's a list about things the Smurfs made me think about/remember:

1. Right before I started first grade, my grandfather took me to buy a new lunchbox. I got to pick whatever I wanted and I, being chic even at that age, picked the pink Smurfette lunchbox--a vast improvement from the metal Superman lunchbox I had had the year before (where did that one come from?!). But perhaps a downgrade from next year's lunchbox, a "live action" Cabbage Patch Kid one (that I lost!).
2. Where did these new Smurflings come from?? There are three or four of them. Who are they? Why are they all slightly redneck? Who are their parents? Now, there are lots of possible candidates for the father (though, I doubt Brainy or Lazy were getting any), but the only female Smurf is Smurfette. Was she a ho? Would she really let her body go by getting pregnant? Do Smurfs need parents?? Where do smurfs come from??
3. Kissy's teacher used to say, "Don't use Smurf words." Smurf words "don't mean anything." They were not "specific" and didn't describe anything. Since we're on the subject of vocabulary, I noticed in watching this morning that the word Smurf means many things (ie whatever you want it to mean) and can be any part of speech you desire. You're such a smurfing smurf. Go smurf somewhere else and smurf in the smurferator.
4. "Smurf Berry Crunch is fun to eat, A Smurfy fruity breakfast treat, Made by Smurfs so happily, It tastes like crunchy Smurf Berries, It's berry shaped and crispy too, In berry red and Smurfy blue." Smurf Berry crunch also always and without fail made me vom into the azalea bushes on the way to the bus stop. Prizes to anyone (besides the Panda (and no asking him)) who can name the two other things that always caused me to hurl at the bus stop. Hint: they had one common (though artificial) ingredient.