Popeye as a Hero

Popeye as a Hero

Every little kid has heroes. Most kids in my generation followed the ninja turtles, wrestlers, and other various sorts of characters. Not that I didn’t like them also, but my hero was quite different from all the usual common heroes. My biggest hero was Popeye, the Sailor Man. To me, Popeye was the ultimate. He always did the right thing no matter what. Popeye had a girlfriend, and he got to wear a really cool sailor suit. And with a can of spinach, he could take anyone on, and come out victorious. Anyway, I was pretty well obsessed with Popeye. My best friend, Joseph Lake was an awesome artist, even at age six, and he was always drawing Popeye pictures. He even taught me how to draw him. The two of us would play Popeye games in his room, where he had specialized Popeye equipment just for such purposes. I remember we built a fort out in his woods, and pretended it was Popeye’s boat. Even though it wasn’t in the water, it worked for us. I would watch the cartoons every day. One of my most favorites was a circus episode, where Popeye and Olive Oil had a job in the circus, but eventually the animals got out of control. Of course, Popeye had to bring things to order, beat up the animals, and turn them into luggage in one punch, which was my favorite Popeye trick.

One day, my teacher announced that we would be doing a school show. We would put on our very own parade, all first grade classes together, and everyone had to participate. There would be animals, clowns, jugglers, and puppets.

“But what about Popeye?” I asked.

"Umm... what about Popeye?" replied the teacher.

"Well how can you have a...

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...lly arrived. All of the kids were dressed up and very lively. My mom had made bought an outfit and got me a fine sailor's hat and a corn-cob pipe. We all pranced around to the music as our parents watched. The time came for me to say my line. I remember looking at the crowd and seeing everyone staring at me in anticipation. I froze and totally went blank. I couldn’t even remember my hero’s line. I burst out in tears and ran off the stage. All the concern and thinking about being Popeye, and I didn’t even do my part. My parents went backstage and calmed me down. They took me out for pizza afterwards and everything was happy again.

I look back and laugh at it now. I took all the time to be Popeye in the show, and practiced so much to be the perfect Popeye, but when the time came I couldn’t do it. It was horrible then, but an unforgettable memory now.