An Ode to Chuck E. Cheese

Chuck E. CheeseHave you heard the news, friends?? With so much going on in the world right now, this piece of news can easily slip through the cracks, but it’s an important one to acknowledge, if only to say goodbye and give it a proper send-off: The iconic Chuck E. Cheese has filed for bankruptcy after 43 years!!!

Did you hear those collective sighs? They’re the sighs of nostalgia from us ‘80s and ‘90s kids. You know, the ones who grew up jumping and splashing and frolicking in ball pits, which seems really gross as adults, especially in light of COVID. The ones who played all the games so you could win all the tickets just to get a cheap plastic toy. The ones who ate slice after slice of pizza while that merry band of instrument-playing oversized animatronic animals sang such hits as “Celebration.” The ones whose parents become more dazed by each passing minute spent in this sensory overload fun center.

But those singing animals!!! That’s what I’d like to focus on in this ode because, let’s face it, they certainly typified the Chuck E. Cheese experience — even more so than the cheesy pizza, I’d dare say!! And as long as I’m taking a stroll down memory lane today, I suppose I should just admit a dark part of my past. You see, I was a wild child. An utter rebel, if you will. So what was my big, bad transgression??

Chuck E. CheeseWell, I…ummm…used to peek behind the curtain of those animals. Yes, in between sets, I got curious. I’d wonder what those animals were doing, so my dad would carry me close to the stage and ever so quietly, I’d pull back the curtain. There they were, big and tall and pretty lifelike!!! Looking back, I’m not exactly sure what I expected to find behind that curtain, but it was always such a thrilling moment. Every. Single. Time.

I should note that in doing research for this blog post, I learned that the animatronic band was retired in 2017 because “kids stopped watching the animatronic shows,” according to the company CEO Tom Leverton.

Are you kidding me? What’s the matter with kids today??

Anyway, that’s what I remember most about Chuck E. Cheese — fun, family time, huge animatronic animals and those carefree days of childhood. I mean, the fun center’s slogan was “Where A Kid Can Be A Kid” and the place sure lived up to its name, didn’t it?!?!?

My mom has some happy memories of her own from our time spent there, so I asked her to write a few thoughts — it took a little pleading, but she agreed!!! Here’s her stroll down memory lane…

Chuck E. CheeseChuck E. Cheese is a pizza place like no other. If you’ve been there, then you know just what I mean! We would take the girls there all the time when they were little, even though we had to drive an hour to get there. My husband Brian and I enjoyed playing Skee-Ball as much as the girls, and we would have quite the competitions!

One of the best times ever happened shortly after my sister and family moved up to Wisconsin. We were all missing each other something fierce, so we decided to each drive halfway and meet for lunch. So, we all arrived at Chuck E. Cheese and the kids were so happy to see one another. The kids played and we had lunch. Then, we were still so happy about being together that the kids played a little more. Well, by this time, the kids were hungry again and so we had dinner! Then they played some more. We finally realized how long we had been there when we walked out to the car to find it pitch black outside! We were there for over 7 hours!

This had to have happened over 30 years ago and we talk about it to this day.

Chuck E. CheeseMemories like that are precious. It was one of the best days of my life, which I know sounds weird, and I am thankful for the memory every time I think of it. It just goes to show you that when you are doing something, you never know when the ordinary will become the extraordinary. That’s the surprising thing about life…it’s unpredictable. Enjoy every minute!

P.S. For the most dedicated fans, check out this complete history of the pizza-and-games paradise!! And an ENTIRE ARTICLE all about the history of the animatronic band…

My Essay on Health: “I Was Told I Was ‘Too Ugly’ to Post Photos of Myself…”

HealthShortly after my tweet went viral last month, an editor from Health magazine reached out and asked if I’d be interested in writing about my disability. I’m so glad we connected and the result is this essay about what it’s like to grow up with a disability. Hope you enjoy it, friends!

Here’s an excerpt of the piece, in which I talk about how finally, after so many years of self-doubt, I’m starting to own who I am. And that is such a powerful thing, friends…

I realized that I do deserve to be seen, and that there’s power in owning who you are. I couldn’t stay silent this time, so I responded with my trilogy of selfies—basically doing the exact opposite of what they asked me to. It was a defiant move, for sure, but I also saw it as a celebration. A celebration of who I am. A celebration of my disability.

Posting those photos—and going up against my cyberbullies—turned out to be more empowering than I could’ve imagined. All the praise helped me see that people were listening and understanding what I was trying to say. It was validation after doubting myself and it made me realize that maybe the world was starting to see disabilities in a more accurate way.

That’s all I really hope for: that young people with disabilities will see my tweet and feel that same sense of pride in themselves and celebrate everything they are. It took me years to find that sense of pride in myself, but I’m so grateful that I’ve finally found it.

Plus…ahhh, another cool first with this piece!!! I got to do my first Instagram video EVER with Health!!! I don’t think the IG story is up any longer, but it was so cool to get to talk all about my disability. You can see their Instagram post about me, though.

You can read the full piece here and I’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to email me anytime at mellow1422@aol.com and let’s chat! And of course, feel free to share my essay on Facebook, Twitter or even your local refrigerator. If you share on Twitter, be sure to tag me @melissablake so I see your tweet and we can connect! I can’t wait to hear from you! Love you all… xoxo

My Essay on The Washington Post: Sesame Street’s Missed Opportunity With Bert and Ernie

Bert and ErnieDid you hear about the kerfuffle surrounding Sesame Street and Bert and Ernie last week? I was super disappointed in Sesame Street’s response after the writer of Bert and Ernie said that he wrote the characters as a couple. The show basically said the two are just friends. The show had an opportunity to make a powerful statement and have a great teaching moment.

Well, I was so frustrated by the whole thing that I channeled all of my rage and anger into…

MY FIRST PIECE FOR THE WASHINGTON POST!!!!

After almost two years of trying to land a WaPo byline, I finally did it!! It’s been quite an exciting week!!! And, yes, I still feel like I’m dreaming…did this REALLY happen???

I sometimes think people have this idealized view of what writers do. Lest you think the life of a writer is all leisurely strolls through meadows waiting for the muse to strike, here’s a play-by-play of how my piece for The Washington Post came to be in less than 48 hours…

*Pitched the idea Tuesday afternoon
*Editor accepted Wednesday morning
*Wrote piece Wednesday morning
*Turned in piece Wednesday at noon
*Piece published Thursday morning

Seriously, though, it was ALL worth it. A byline in The Washington Post was my big writing goal for 2018. After multiple rejections from FOUR different sections of the newspaper, I was getting discouraged, but I’m so glad I kept pitching!! I felt so honored to write about a show that shaped my childhood. Sesame Street is all about learning and they could have taught children that family comes in a variety of forms, not just a man and a woman.

Here’s an excerpt of the piece, which has sent me down the YouTube rabbit hole of nostalgia ever since I wrote it…

One of the hallmarks of “Sesame Street” has been its ability to maintain its relevance despite being on the air for almost 50 years. It’s changed with the times, to bring in the news of the day and break it down in a way that children could understand. Whether they were tackling huge issues or some more nuanced aspect of everyday life, the puppets have been a great teaching tool. Children learn about their world through those puppets, which is why it’s so important that the residents of “Sesame Street” reflect the culture and time period. “Sesame Street” could have used this as an opportunity to teach children that families come in a variety of forms.

For children who have LGBTQ parents, this type of representation would be invaluable. They may not know anyone like them at school, but if they can look at the TV and say, “Bert and Ernie are just like my dads,” it would be incredibly validating.

Bert and Ernie Bert and ErnieYou can read the full piece here and I’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to email me anytime at mellow1422@aol.com and let’s chat! And of course, feel free to share my essay on Facebook, Twitter or even your local refrigerator. If you share on Twitter, be sure to tag me @melissablake so we can connect! I can’t wait to hear from you! Love you all… xoxo

What Do You Love About Your Hometown?

What Do You Love About Your HometownWhat do you love about your hometown? I’m not sure what it is, but there’s something about the summertime that just fills me with an overwhelming sense of hometown pride. Obviously, there’s something incredibly magical about summers in the Midwest, which probably has something to do with my love; the weather is beautiful, so people spend more time outside enjoying life and everything their little corner of the world has to offer. We’ve talked about where we live before, but what about the very, very beginning? You know, where you came from…

But first, a mini history lesson is in order: Aside from corn and Cindy Crawford, my hometown of DeKalb, Illinois, is also home to Jacob Haish. Haish became an early inventor of barbed wire when he received a patent for his innovation in 1874. He would go on to leave his mark on this town through his many philanthropic endeavors, including being instrumental in establishing what is now Northern Illinois University (Go, Huskies!) and leaving $150,000 for the DeKalb Public Library.

So it was that very library that proved the perfect spot to unveil an official memorial marker in his honor. I went to the dedication ceremony last weekend, where I got up close and personal with my hometown in a way that was both inspiring and life-affirming. And remember my amazing friend Jessi? Well, she’s a Haish descendant and has been chronicling the family’s history on A Twist in History, which is the most detailed resource on the Jacob Haish story that I’ve ever read! She also helped unveil the marker!! See, I told you that she was pretty awesome, didn’t I?

Growing up, I didn’t really have a true appreciation for this place I came from. I wanted nothing more than to break free from these corn fields and the small town life I’d come to see as suffocating. It was boring and nothing even remotely exciting EVER happened here, I’d think, and I had huge dreams of moving to the Big Apple. But now? Things have changed and my perspective is certainly different than it used to be. Sure, maybe someday I’d like to move to a big city, but right now, in my hometown, there is absolutely no place I’d rather be.

Where we come from helps make us the people we become. It’s our compass and helps chart the course for the rest of our lives. So how can this place ever be something we come to hate? It feels like that would be hating a part of ourselves, you know?

What Do You Love About Your HometownI don’t know about you, but I’m viewing my hometown with more gratitude these days. For everything it’s given me over the years and for helping me through this journey we call life. In case you’re feeling particularly nostalgic right now, here are a few more hometown pride blog posts from years past…

*On Hometown Pride

*The Benefits of a Staycation

*Downtown For the Day

*’Small Town‘

Do you have hometown pride, friends? What do you love about the place you came from? What makes it so special? I’d love to hear all about it, so be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments! And, for fun…what cool things is your hometown known for? xoxo

Tuesday Tunes: Best TV Theme Songs

It’s like peanut butter and jelly. It’s like red beans and rice. It’s like cookies and milk. It’s like Twitter and hashtags.

Theme songs and TV shows just go together. The right jingle can send a show swiftly on its way — right into syndication heaven, no doubt. The best ones are uber catchy, the kind that stick in your head long after you switch off the television and the kind that you even find yourself humming as you go about your daily activities. At its heart, a theme song should do two things: Set the tone for the show and do a good job of summarizing the show’s plot. All with musical prowess, of course!! And WORDS. I can’t stress this one enough because an instrumental theme song is just plain sad. Who has time for that??

For this special edition of Tuesday Tunes, I give you five of my favorite TV theme songs of all time…

The Brady Bunch: Did you really think this one wouldn’t be on the list?? From those first note (you know, “here’s the story…”), we immediately become familiar with, well, the story. It’s like a Cliffs Notes version of the entire series. I grew up on this show in syndication and I loved humming it. Every. Single. Episode.

Frasier: At first, the lyrics just sound like a hodge-podge of nonsense words strung together, but I think it has a deeper meaning than that. Frasier’s a psychiatrist who is often confused and blue himself. He’s also a radio psychiatrist, so the line, “Hey, baby, I hear the blues a-calling…” just fits perfectly. I read a fun article about the story behind the song recently and it made such sense!

Gilligan’s Island: The story of seven strangers…NO! I’m not talking about that show! The show about Gilligan and company managed to take a single premise — an afternoon aboard a “tiny ship” — and streeeeetch it out over three seasons. Not to mention that the castaways always seemed to have new clothes, even though they only went on a “three-hour tour.” That’s some skill, if you ask me! I’d watch this show while eating breakfast in elementary school and it dazzled me. And that professor…?? Wow…

The Golden Girls: These gals were hip long before that foursome on Sex and the City strutted down the streets of Manhattan. Miami was never the same after Blanche, Rose, Dorothy and Sophia breezed into town. And, I’m sure, none of our friendships were ever the same after hearing said theme song!

The Big Bang Theory: I couldn’t help but throw a more recent show in the mix. The theme song sort of sounds like a prolific genius on speed, with all these thoughts and facts just flowing out in rapid succession. I wonder if that’s how Sheldon Cooper feels all the time.

So…which TV theme song is your favorite, friends? Do you find that some stick in your head and…they…won’t…leave? Any theme songs you absolutely hate?? xoxo

[Top photo via We Heart It]