Brendan Quealy: Traveling the stream of consciousness

Brendan Quealy, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
Updated ·4 min read

Jan. 8—I'm certainly no spring chicken anymore. In fact, if I had to pair a season with some sort of avian counterpart to describe myself, I think I'd have to go with a winter pigeon.

I've slowed down a bit, certainly gone grayer in my beard and hair. No doubt gotten a bit plumper as I inch closer to 40 years old. But I'll tell you what, I'm kind of enjoying it.

Because while I've grown up and taken on adult responsibilities and worries, I'm still a Nickelodeon kid at heart with a sense of wonder and adventure along with a knack for whimsy and a greater sense of acceptance and tolerance of those who are also just trying to live their lives without causing a ruckus.

I feel like I hit the sweet spot when it comes to my childhood and growing up in the wide world during the advent of the world wide web. I got the benefits of the internet before the drawbacks of social media that led to cyberbullying and virtual stranger danger. All I had to worry about was that old, blue van with a ladder on top that the older kids told me belonged to a devious kidnapper. I'm sure that was just some urban legend, but I still avoid such vehicles.

I went from using the thick books of Encyclopedia Britannica to popping in the Encarta Encyclopedia CD-ROM. I went from a word processor with that nuclear-green screen to a Gateway and Windows '95, from coloring books and crayons to digital paint-by-numbers. I got to experience the internet when it was relatively innocent, or maybe I just experienced it when I was relatively innocent.

All of these things that were created to help make life easier, I was blessed with that advantage before — like much in life — it was corrupted and used for nefarious purposes. But I've taken with me the knowledge of how to navigate the technology while doing my best to sidestep the landmines. But I know I've lost the metaphorical limb here and there.

I believe all of that has done me well as I've transitioned from spring chicken to winter pigeon. Obviously, the journey has been far from smooth for me — let alone any of us that found ourselves on the right side of midnight when the calendar turned that '22 into '23.

Although I deride some technology, I still fondly look back at the TV shows that helped raise me when both of my parents were working to provide me with the best life they possibly could. The Dougs. The Clarissa Explains It Alls. The Pete & Petes. The Hey Dudes. The Salute Your Shorts. Rocko. Ren and Stimpy. Alex Mack. Kenan and Kel. Double Dare and Guts and Legends of the Hidden Temple.

All gold.

I mean, for anyone my age, they have to count Stick Stickly as a close and personal friend.

That popsicle stick with red googly eyes and a yellow Tic Tac nose was a seminal figure in my most formative of years.

So many of the lessons learned from those shows and characters boiled down to honesty and accountability. Those two attributes, when used for good intentions, can serve as the tentpoles for living a comfortable life. They can pull you through the worst, the most uneasy times.

Not all of the credit goes to the shows on Nickelodeon, of course.

If not for my parents instilling those virtues in me, nurturing them and living by example, I'm not sure the message would have sunk in as well as it has and stuck around for as long as it has.

What I know for sure is that I've learned — through all of this — to cherish the simple. Enjoy and embrace what you have around you. And maybe from time to time, punch up an episode of Rugrats or Rocko's Modern Life, sit back and just take a breath.

Life can sometimes just be about taking it easy. And that goes for spring chickens and winter pigeons alike.

Reach Sports Editor Brendan Quealy at bquealy@record-eagle.com.