Skip to main content

punky power

One of my favorite TV shows growing up was Punky Brewster. It was on everyday after school and I wanted to be her bad. I already had the freckles and bad fashion sense. I wanted to name my dog Brandon. Paint clouds on my ceiling. Wear two different color converse and tie a bandana around my knee. One of my real life best friends actually did and I was terribly jealous. My parents wouldn’t buy me one pair of converse much less two, and my hair was too short for pigtails. I thought I could have been a better best friend to Punky than Cherie and thought that Henry was a little mean for a foster dad (although his appearances in Police Academy did help give him some street cred) and that her and her golden retriever Brandon should just move in with me. We could paint the ceiling and put each other’s hair in pig tails.

I still enjoy pig tails, converse (matching or not), anything painted on the ceiling, and have a big heart for homeless people. Maybe it started with Punky.

Much to my chagrin, the show was canceled after just 2 years. That or I’d moved on to bigger and better shows like Blossom.

A few years later Punky, or Soleil MoonFrye (what kind of name is that?), showed up on another popular shows. Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. And despite for my past affection for Clarissa Explains It All… I could never get into the show. I was in highschool by then and far to cool to be watching shows with talking cats.

So today, I was walking down the book aisle at Target looking for something to read….(yes I know every other person on the planet has a Nook or a Kindle or something like that and as many books as I go through I could save several forests by investing in one but I just haven’t taken the plunge or dropped the cash yet). And I stumbled across this:

A book, by Punky on parenting.
Sitting right there between a Mitch Album book and a Elizabeth Gilbert book.
Punky was an established author.
And apparently a model parent.

I took it as a challenge.
If Punky can be a serious writer…
If she can be a model parent while naming her daughters Poet and Jagger (ok, Jagger is a kickass name but Poet??)….
Well….I need to break out my converse and get to work….on my own writing. And as far as my parenting goes, well I already have the chaos part down. But maybe I shoud rename my kids: Axl and Barista, or atleast change my dog's name from Mazzy to Brandon.
But not till after I paint some clouds on the ceiling.

Comments

Unknown said…
Funny, I was at Target yesterday too, and saw it on the bookshelf. Almost picked it up, but I'm in the middle of another book. Let me know how it is...I'd love to hear your thoughts before I plunk down the ching.
September 5, 2011 at 12:58 PM
michelle said…
I didn't actually buy it....I am slightly entriqued but not enough to fork over 20$...and I kind of don't want to know that little orphan punky brewster is a better parent than me!
September 5, 2011 at 4:55 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Of course I did.

Today I am supposed to be doing my last installment in five for ten and write about "yes". And this is not at all the post I intended. But life sometimes doesn't take the turns we want it to. And yesterday a teacher friend of mine called and told me about a memorial service for one of my former studetns and asked if maybe I would consider saying something. And keep in mind, that as a teacher, I pretty much speak to groups of people all day for a living. But. If I have to say something serious and heartfealt, even to an audience of one, I usually get all mumbly and stare at my shoes and forget what I was going to say. Even though I love this kid....and will miss him terribly I have a hard time imaging myslef on stage talking to an auditorium filled with grief stricken friends and family. I texted another friend about my reservations. And she knows all too well my mumbly shoe staring state. And she replied, "Did you say yes?" Did which I typed back. "of cour...
13 comments
Read more

Either/Or

Recently I met an old friend for lunch. He was actually my senior high prom date. He wasn’t just my prom date, but had been my friend for a good part of high school. And our group has mostly stayed in touch through the years. But not him. Even though we live in the same big metroplex, I hadn’t seen him in almost 15 years. At prom, He even won some kind of senior superlative, Mr. BHS or something like that. In other words, he was well-liked, nice, funny and smart. And it helped that he drove a Camero. We didn’t break up or have a falling out. He kind of just disappeared. And not just from me, but from everyone. And I had looked for him. At class reunions. On myspace. And eventually, only about a year ago, he finally showed up on facebook. When he did, I suggested we get together for dinner or something. And he responded with a really awkward email. Explaining that he was gay. Warning me. Trying to let me out of my dinner invitation if I wanted. And I already knew this. Possibly I had ev...
10 comments
Read more

me too

I used to never question God. It was just part of the way things were. Just like I believed in Santa and the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny. And eventually I grew up and started to wonder. I always believed, But occasionally I started to wonder if he was always good. If he really loved me. Singular me rather than an all inclusive version. That he was paying attention. That my prayers mattered.` And I didn’t know that I should play by the rules. That questioning these outloud things in a Bible study or Sunday School class Will get you bumped to the top of the prayer list. Because I know. But sometimes I wonder. And I didn’t need their scripture memory verses or their books or their prayers. (but I guess prayers never hurt) And I was just hoping for someone else to say “me too”. And, Jason Boyett’s book, O Me of Little Faith Is one great big “me too” And like most books I like he asks a whole lot more questions than he answers. Hard ones. Ones without real answers. Ones that make me wa...
3 comments
Read more