Nobody Weird Like Me

"If you're feeling lousy 'cuz you had a bad day...  

Welcome to the human race..."

I think it's clear that when I was a kid I was an oddball.  Wanting to play with puppets and put on shows, playing with my Indiana Jones action figures, and sometimes break-dance to the Thriller album when no one was looking.  I wasn't into joining any sports teams (but loved playing with my friends), never had the chance to go to camp, and probably spent too much time in my room drawing.  My parents were OK with this though, and made sure I got the sketchbooks, and the Kermit puppet, and the records (or tapes) of music I loved.  But even they knew I was weird.  I didn't have many friends at school, I did in my neighborhood (we all hung out together).

But it's not to say my parents didn't worry at all.  

They had a weird way of going about it too...

For my eighth birthday the got me a book and tape set called "No More Feeling Weird".  But they kinda goofed when giving it to me.  They had wrapped that up in the same wrapping paper another record they were going to give me.  They were going to give me "Weird" on my actual birthday, but the weekend before t hey had the family come over for cake and birthday stuff and slipped and gave me"Weird" in front of the whole family...

My family is a blast.  No one made fun of me, and they wanted to play the tape and look at the book.  I was mortified.

My entire family called me out for being the weird one.  After one song on the tape they stopped and my mom or dad put on the radio, or something...  And I realized they weren't making fun of me, they were embracing the weird.

In my early teens the tape and book disappeared and I didn't even think of it.  Then I grew up, and got weirder (so the tape and book didn't help me get less weird, but I guess I didn't feel weird, so it was a success!) and weirder...  I moved to Florida and back in my twenties and upon moving back randomly found the tape in a box of tapes...  And I had to play it...

It's all down hill after the first song; 'Welcome To The Human Race" (was "Welcome to the Jungle" a sequel to me at 12 years old?) and I could barley make it though the goofy stories in-between the goofy songs.  But I kept the tape.  I thought it would be great to use the song in a movie someday.  

And then I forgot about it all over again.  

About a month ago I was re-arranging my studio, and found a box of Elmwood videos.  At the bottom on the box...  Yup, the tape.

And I wondered  "Has anyone else ever seen this thing?"  So I hit Ebay, which is where I got the pic at the top of the post, and it turns out I wasn't alone...  Wow.  Other kids parents bought them this too...  Hahahaha...

Someday, somewhere, in an Elmwood movie you will hear that song...

And I'm still weird.

And as the Chili Peppers say "Nobody Weird Like Me"