Stay Make-Believing

I watched a certain YouTube video three times in a row this morning and I could watch it a thousand times more.

During this plague year of isolation and social distancing, it’s important to stay in touch with people.

To that end, I recently reconnected with my cousin’s wonderful daughter, Lucy, whom I met back in 2009 when I visited my cousin Pat and her family in Santa Fe.

I had a blast during that visit, but we hadn’t spoken in a while, so it was great to get the latest news on the New Mexico bunch.

Last week, at my sister’s suggestion, I emailed Lucy a bunch of photos I had taken of her during my visit.

Lucy wrote back to tell me that she is putting her creative energy into a music project, which she kindly shared with me.

In the video, Lucy sings a song called “Hideaway” from an animated film called Wonder Park, which I confess I haven't seen.

The song pretty much tells the story of my life as it celebrates the joys of avoiding adulthood at all costs.

“So let's just play pretend and find a secret place,” the song tells us, “When the world around us says that we should act our age, the day is gonna come when there's no time left to waste; but we'll never grow up, I say we hide away.”

Lucy uses the song as a tribute to Bill Watterson’s fabulous comic strip Calvin and Hobbes and it works perfectly.

Often called “the last great newspaper comic,” Calvin and Hobbes follows the adventures of a the mischievous six-year-old boy Calvin, and his stuffed tiger Hobbes, who comes to life when no one else is around.

Make Our Great Escape

Watterson reportedly came up with the idea for the strip while working at an advertising job he had hated.

At the height of its popularity Calvin and Hobbes was featured in over 2,400 newspapers worldwide.

I’ve always had a fondness for this strip as it celebrates the wonders of a child’s imagination. And Lucy brilliantly uses the song and images from the comic for her video.

I actually had tears in my eyes watching Lucy perform.

I was amazed to see how much she had grown since the last time I saw her and I couldn’t believe how quickly 11 years had slipped away.

This country has taken a very dark turn and we’re heading into what could very well be the worst winter in our history as Covid-19, the flu, and political strife converge into one horrendous symphony.

When Lucy sings “stay make-believing, we’ll go disappearing,” all I can say is “Amen, sister!”

Obviously, we can’t live in the land of make believe forever. But the next best thing is to be grateful for every single day and stay close to the ones we love, pandemic be damned.

Bill Watterson ended Calvin and Hobbes 25 years ago, saying that he didn’t want the strip “to coast into halfhearted repetition, as so many long-running strips do."

He relocated to—wait for it—Santa Fe, at least for a while, but he has since reportedly returned to his native Ohio, where he keeps a low profile.

The final Calvin and Hobbes strip ran on December 31, 1995, where we see are two heroes standing outside admiring the freshly fallen snow.

“It's a magical world, Hobbes, ol' buddy... Let's go exploring!" Calvin says, as they took off on their sled.

Yes, it is. And, yes, we must.