The boy’s face lit up as he rushed to find the rest of his action figures. He’d just asked if I wanted to see more of his collection and I had acquiesced.
I could tell that he had been longing for someone to talk to for some time. He had a lot to say – I’d known that since I first met him – but I hadn’t realized just how much. He jumped at the chance to describe his Imaginext and Playskool Heroes figures and to educate me about the history of each brand’s progression in the genre. I asked where he had gotten his information and he shrugged.
“I did some research,” he said simply.
“Now, this one is C-3PO,” he continued, as though my question had disrupted his rhythm. “He and the Stormtrooper are both from Playskool Heroes but the Chewbacca is…”
I listened to his soliloquy for another minute or two until he held up a different action figure. This toy was a rhinoceros that stood upright. It wore brown camouflage military pants, a black tank top, a green utility belt and a matching helmet. Then it was my face that lit up.
“Is that Rocksteady from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?” I asked excitedly.
“Yes!” he exclaimed. “How did you know that?”
“Oh please,” I said with a laugh. “I used to watch that show all the time when I was a kid. I could probably still name a bunch of the characters.”
Realized during a recent private practice session that I can name 15 characters from the original #TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles (it was relevant to the session, I promise).
This is why I forget things like where my car is parked.
— Aaron Yavelberg (@sleepingonedge) April 15, 2021
I was right; at the boy’s request, I rattled off a string of names immediately. The boy’s awe-filled eyes seemed to widen with every name I mentioned, though not as much as his smile. By the time I got to characters like Leatherhead and Usagi Yojimbo, his grin had spread from ear to ear. He didn’t even recognize the mutant rabbit’s name or the ancillary news crew members1 but it didn’t matter.
I was speaking his language.
I knew I would get some responses when I posted about my TMNT knowledge on social media. The replies were either going to be from people who shared my nostalgia for the show, from people whose minds were also filled with similarly useless pieces of information, or from some mix of the two. I didn’t, however, expect that those replies would lead me to consider my emotional and personal growth through the lens of the show.
I’ve never met Natasha Nicholes. I’ve followed her social media presence for a few years and I’d certainly like to meet her at some point. But, to date, our connection has been purely electronic.
Natasha replied to my tweet a few times, including this heartfelt account of the ways TMNT helped her maintain her bond with her siblings through their lives. But it was one particular response that made me stop and think.
“Let’s ask the hard questions now,” she wrote. “Which turtle did you most identify with?”
I ruled out two immediately, just as I had when I was a child. The theme song reminds us that “Leonardo leads; Donatello does machines.” Leonardo always struck me as too straight-laced. He was a Boy Scout; he followed the rules and saw the world in the binary of right and wrong. Leo always took the spotlight and didn’t acknowledge the possibility of a gray area. He was certainly not a character with whom I would identify.
Donatello was overly logical and technologically oriented. The logic piece obviously draws a straight line to me; I’m much more aligned with Mr. Spock than Captain Kirk,2 to use a different classic television show reference. But Donny was too mechanical and concrete to match with me. Plus, if I’m being honest, the bo was was the most boring of the four weapons.
Michaelangelo – the “party dude” – always drew my attention when I was younger. He was fun-loving, off-the-wall-wacky and loved to have a good time. Mikey made the most obvious jokes, which was important for six- and seven-year-old Aaron, so he had always held my allegiance.
I realized, though, that, as an adult, I’ve settled most closely on Raphael. He was “cool but crude” in the show; always quick with a snide comment and wit sharper than his sai blades. He defeated his enemies mentally before overpowering them physically. Raph was also a bit of a loner. He always tried to handle too much on his own, rather than relying on those closest to him for support.
I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether my jokes can be considered sharp or if you would prefer to use a different adjective. But it’s not exactly a secret that I tend to keep to myself and work my way through problems without asking for help. Fortunately, while Raphael and I both start most of our journeys on our own, we both usually come to the same conclusion. We realize that we’re much better off utilizing the support offered by our family and friends and we adjust our tactics accordingly.
In the end, we’ve all got pieces of each character inside us. The same is true in any fictional grouping, whether it’s a show like Sex and the City or the Four Children from the Passover seder. Part of being human means that our personalities are made up of various different components. We are not two-dimensional characters written solely to move plots along; we are large and contain multitudes.
The key is to keep that very point in mind – that we are all a combination of each individual. Our personalities are influenced by both nature and nurture, as are the connections we end up making with others as we grow. We make choices based on our experiences and handle the consequences as best we can. The colors of our masks are not as important as the fact that we wear those masks together as a team.
Cowabunga, dudes.
Photo by Hello I’m Nik on Unsplash
1. Irma was April O’Neill’s geeky assistant. She wore a blue sweater and oversized brown glasses. And Vernon was a tall, skinny, wimp of a producer. I still have trouble taking people with those names seriously because of this tv show.↩
Cowabunga! This is fantastic.