Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

The first episode I ever saw that aired in August of 1993 was Day of the Dumpster.  To an impressionable seven year-old, that world was everything.  While I could respect the other rangers, I was truly a fan of Billy, the Blue Ranger.  Maybe it was because he was the nerd/outcast who became stronger, but still stayed true to who he was as a person, or maybe it was the cool trident staff/lances he had for his special weapons.  Either way, it was a great motivator for a boy who, only the day before, had his father pass away from a heart attack in the night.

When looking at it retrospectively, Billy's transformation mirrors my development over the years in many aspects.  Learning to accept and love yourself in spite of external factors is a challenge for many people; some have chosen to ignore that difficult struggle and replace it with something else.  It may seem like I disapprove of it, but that's not true really.  We are all different and what works for some doesn't necessarily work for others.  For me, I have found the journey of self-exploration and development a far more fascinating subject than what others may have chosen.  My method of development has been through the practice of Capoeira, as I have written at length about in previous posts, videos, and my teaching blog.  Those are easy to find, so I would be repeating myself here.

It was ironic at the time that an academically-focused boy such as I was and am would be so into a martial arts television program.  Sure, there was a method of fitness in my life while I was at school (something for which I am thankful for) but when not on the field, I would be enveloped in studies or at home playing games with my two older brothers.    I catch some of the older episodes once in a while when online, and old feelings come flooding back into being.  Serious Alpha 5 was tolerable; over-excited Alpha 5 was punchable. When Tommy came along, I was mad at him, then cool with him, then a bit mad at him, then he became awesome.  I was surprised as I grew older how consistent each of the following series were with retaining consistency with the universe.  That got less and less so in later teams, but that's around the time when I stopped watching and played more games/studied/performed in theater.

In the back of my head, I've always dreamed of being on the team, as many kids my age have done.  Somehow, that dream never went away, even as I got older.  Maybe it's not so much the suit, the zords, the weapons (all of which are more than enough reason to be on the team!), but I see that dream continuing into my adult years as a way to explain both my easy communication with my young students and my ease of which I talk to children in general.  I've just wanted to be a good role model for them, and so I talk to them honestly, and I'm nice, without treating them with indifference and not backing down from rules I've given.  It's a good mentality for someone who is a teacher: take care of the kids when they are younger and they'll take care of you when you're older.  These are the people that will run things when I am long gone, so I hope to develop them into decent people at least a little bit.

With a wonderful muse in my life lately, I certainly hope to write more frequently.  After being gone from it for so long, writing again as if I had never stopped is refreshing and encouraging.

-David