Shopping At Leftorium

"Now, there's a certain thing, that I learned from my friend, Mouse. A fella who always blushes and that is that ev'ryone must always flush out his house. If he don't expect to be goin' 'round housing flushes. Open the door, Homer." Bob Dylan from "Open the Door, Homer"

When the nurse came in with my morning melancholy makers she was looking a little jaundiced, yellow to be more precise. It wasn't a good color on her. she wore her tight white uniform nicely, bursting out of it in all the appropriate areas, and I'd seen her looking her devilish best after a long day in the sun, burned red as an apple,. But this new color, this discoloration caused by God know what, vitamin deficiency, bad Ted Turner style colorization, or a bad tanning session, it didn't matter, but it looked bad. Yellow, after all, is not the new black.

For the better part of 19 years a family of yellow people have come into our living rooms, never showing the slightest signs of ageing. Kids who have just graduated high school have never known a world without them. They have introduced words into our lexicon, have shaped the way we view nuclear energy, and gave us enough jabs at organized religion that a book was written on their religious philosophies. They are the Simpsons.

It's hard to imagine the world without Homer and Bart. Sure Marge, Lisa, and Maggie mean something to us as well, but it's the males of Springfield that we idolize like rock stars. In the beginning the show focused on Bart. His trails and tribulations with Principal Skinner, Mrs Krabappel, and Krusty the Clown sucked us into the eye of the hurricane. Once we were hooked, fish caught in the net, they turned our attention to Homer. We started hanging out with Barney, Moe, Lenny and Carl. we got to know about Wayland Smithers alternative lifestyle and that more rock bands play Springfield than Cleveland.

My favorite episode of the Simpsons is the one in which Bart becomes a daredevil and announces for the town to hear that is going to jump Springfield Gorge on his skateboard. There's a line from Ott, who as the only adult present thinks that he should say something. His word of advice: "Coooool". But in the end it is Homer who nearly pulls off the impossible. The reason it reigns supreme for me is simple. Truck-a-Saurus.

There are over 300, closing in on 400 episodes to choose from and for some it will be a nearly impossible task to choose a favorite,. Be it a Sideshow Bob episode, Or Bleeding Gums Murphy, or Pattie and Selma, Apu, Dr. Marvin Monroe, Reverend Lovejoy, or everyones favorite neighbor, Ned Flanders the choice is tough. So hard that some won't even attempt to name one, but no matter what, I doubt any of us could imagine a world without what my nephew calls "The Yellow People".

What's your favorite episode? Or Character?

Dixie Cup of Love: Tracey Ullman