I enjoy writing and sometimes it comes easy; however, more often than not, I find I can’t think of a damn thing put on my blank sheet of paper.  Maybe it’s because I’ve never been a big talker.  I wish I were, then perhaps I could escape the awkward silence that comes when your brain farts and your mouth shifts into  lock-jaw mode.  I envy those who always know what to say.  It’s never been my gift.  I fear, the lack of mastering the gift of gab, will make me a boring writer; so I desperately look for springboards of information that will launch me into a writing frenzy.   In my quest to discover such data I stumbled upon a website that generates random writing prompts with a click of the mouse.    Excitedly I clicked for my prompt and this is what I got:

“Do cartoons have long term effects on us?  Write something that makes mention of a cartoon character you haven’t thought about in a very long time.”

So here goes:

I loved him as a kid and I still love him to this day.   Who wouldn’t love the one who filled your Saturday mornings with laughter?   Saturdays were a wonderful welcome after a long week of trudging back and forth to school.  Extremely shy, I dreaded almost everything about elementary school.  One Saturday morning, with a turn of a knob, a gray “wascaly wabbit” filled my living room and walked into my life forever.  He was awesome, cute, smart, and funny and could easily do antics I could only accomplish in dreams.  Also he had lots of friends (something I craved) with names like Daffy, Elmer, Porky, Sylvester, Tweety and Sam.   Bugs Bunny was everything I wanted to be minus the gray fur, long ears and cotton tail!   He was my hero and like all good heroes he taught me some valuable lessons.  In fact those lessons are just as relevant in my adult life as they were in my childhood, perhaps even more.  Using the very words of my hero, listed below are 10 lessons I learned from Bugs Bunny:

•  “I knew I should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque.”  —–Wrong turns are like shit:  It happens!  Recognize it, change it and stop feeling guilty about it.
• “Gee, ain’t I a stinker!” ——Nobody’s perfect…that’s okay…just be yourself.
• “Eh…What’s up Doc?”-——Ask lots of questions…even if they don’t want you to.  Refuse to stop learning.
• “Carrots are divine…you get a dozen for a dime.  It’s magical!” —Enjoy the little things for in them you find peace and happiness.
• “My, I bet, you monsters, lead innnnnnnnteresting lives.”—Diversity Rocks!  Embrace it.
• “Stop steamin’up my tail! What are ya tryn’ to do….wrinkle it!”—  Don’t tread on the rights anyone….everyone should be treated equally. 
• “Just a minute partna’you can’t talk to me like that, them’s fightin’ words”   Freedom is worth the fight.
• “Well, what do you expect in an opera?  A happy ending?”  —There are no guarantees and sometimes you don’t get the happy ending.
• “Jumpin’without a parachute?  Kind of dangerous, ain’t it?” —-Prepare and have a plan
• “Don’t take life too seriously.  You’ll never get out alive” Lighten up and have fun!

Don’t underestimate the value of cartoons.  Do yourself a favor…watch a cartoon!  You’ll be surprised what lessons you learn.

(In case you were wondering the site is:  http://corbettharrison.com/writers_notebooks.html#topics )