Episode 15 & 16: The Pest & The
Legend of Big Kid
This is my favorite episode of Recess, and the first one I watched when it was doing re-runs around the year 2000. I distinctly remember being in 1st grade and gasping at how The Pest episode was a reflection of how felt about a girl at school. It wasn't long after seeing that Rugrats episode, and I'd been taken by this strange notion people called "love". While I certainly never poked the girl, I did annoy her a whole lot by always confessing and giving her things and following her around just looking at her from a distance. I was often too shy and scared to talk to her, especially after she yelled at me to leave her alone. But my heart still liked her and I couldn't understand why she didn't like me too. It just made no sense. I even had dreams about marrying her.
The episode ends in a very gentle and well mannered let down. If only real life was like that! For me, I ended up having a crush on the girl for about 5 years of unrequited love, and then I realized all of a sudden that I'd been a huge idiot and would never ever call her mine, so I moved on. It was a real epiphany that just sort of happened, around the time I joined the middle school play production and the girl also got a part, so I was forced to be around her almost every day. It sort of desensitized me to her presence, and the lack of timidity made me realize how stupid I was. She was just... a girl. Then, of course, I had a crush on an 8th grade girl and uh, well that was a disaster!
The 2nd episode of Recess was great. It really makes me miss nap time and finger painting and all the yummy snacks we'd get back then. My kindergarten gave us rice krispie treats. I remember during one naptime, around 1999 or so, laying there half awake while the radio played Cher's "Believe" which had been a huge hit. It might have been preschool now that I think about it. It was just a cozy feeling I got, that's all, and the song, while being the harbinger of music industry evil with its early autotune, holds a dear place in my heart. It also makes me think of that Cher song "If I Could Turn Back Time" since I plan traveling back in time to the age of 3 again.
