My first literary sponsors would have to be my father, PBS and Captain Kangaroo. My Dad would read bedtime stories to me as a toddler and sometimes he would come home with a new Goldenbook for us to read together. Most of my days were spent plopped in front of the TV, watching Sesame Street and Electric Company. Electric Company was an educational program from the 70’s that used sketch comedy to help readers improve their skills. It was aimed at older kids but I watched it anyway because it was on right after Sesame Street. Some of the sketches were cheesy and downright annoying. One sketch that comes to mind featured a chimney sweep duo. A shrill, operatic musical number that highlighted the “ch” sound. Some sketches amused me, like …show more content…
My favorite characters were Mr. Moose and Mr. Bunny Rabbit. Mr. Bunny Rabbit wore horn-rimmed glasses and would manage to trick Captain Kangaroo into giving him all of his carrots and Mr. Moose would make it rain ping-pong balls. To a three year old, it was high- brow satire. The best part was that Captain Kangaroo was a warm, fuzzy grandfather figure who always read stories, so if Dad never made it upstairs because he was drunk or too busy terrorizing my mother, Captain Kangaroo was there to take me somewhere else with a …show more content…
I thought I was a tough, little cookie with a big mouth, but then I meet my fellow inmates and soon realized I had better find a way to win their favor or I was going be the recipient of many beat downs in the near future. Using humor became my best defense and I began creating comics about Alfred the cockroach, a naive young bug who falls down a kitchen sink drain and winds up in the hood. Various hi jinx ensue involving pimps, ho's and cocaine dealers. I also became the less literate girls scribe and teacher, writing letters for them and assisting them when they were at a loss for words. My writing kept me from being bullied and I was able to hold onto my meals. Soon I gained high status among them, not quite alpha but I was usually her right hand bitch. Although I had loathed catholic school, having the fundamentals of writing pummeled into me by relentless nuns worked. There was a method to their madness because I was able to write efficiently and effectively. While reading exposed me to others worlds and ideas, writing gave me my own