Oct 23, 2023·edited Oct 23, 2023Liked by Ted Gioia
1.) Gumby, Silly Putty, Play-Doh, Slinky... I loved them all. I had a strong aversion to plastic though. Refused to put my mouth on anything plastic and refused to eat with plastic utensils.
2.) Dude, how could you not play with your slinky? If you start it out just right, you can get a slinky to walk down an entire flight of stairs. It's amazing.
3.) If you had played with Gumby as a child, you would know that eventually (if you spend enough time bending it into different poses) the metal wires inside that allow it to retain a pose will pop through the rubber giving a young child an early lesson in aging and mortality. And also, you have to find new meaning and ways to play with the broken down disfigured formerly perfect Gumby.
4.) One of the most frustrating aspects of Gumby is that the natural desire to have Gumby ride Pokey is thoroughly thwarted by the fact that Gumby's crotch is triangular and Pokey's back is square. It's just impossible.
5.) I now want to obtain a Gumby.
6.) You could vary your experiment by only carrying around a Pokey.
In addition to Gumby, my childhood crew collected and adored what we called “wishniks” more widely known as trolls now. Hand sized rubbery naked dolls with fluorescent colored fuzz for hair that stood straight up. Really ugly things but adorable to us. Remember those?
So what you seem to be pointing out, Ted, was that the adults who evinced a visceral thrill at the appearance of Gumby seem to have take a healthy imprint on Freud's oral and anal circuits from childhood and are not filled with revulsion and horror and inhibitions at the fact of our biological fluids, protoplasm, and other earthy gooey aspects of all that is viscous in our lives. This is the Ageless Hippie archetype, eh?
Or do I read too much into it? As another writer - was it Steve Almond? - thought: people who love to perform oral sex are liberals; those who find it a duty or something to overcome their disgust of...not liberals.
Reading this, I am now remembering that in high school, my debate partner and I had a Gumby that we also took everywhere. I, too, have no clear idea why.
And yes re: risk. I'm reminded of that saying about write about you fear writing the most. I'm currently in engaged in just that -- writing that is provocative enough that some people in my field of study are literally afraid to be seen having coffee with me. Thank you for reminding me that it's worth it -- writing something that is completely non threatening to anyone isn't worth the time.
I wonder of you could replace Gumby with SpongeBob SquarePants in your discussions about philosophy. He is a polarizing character that invokes either total contempt or total admiration to anyone regardless if they’ve seen the TV show or not.
I’ve found myself as a 30-something father of two young children, completely in love with the character! I throughly enjoyed the 12.5 minute show as I watched it with my kids who found the show totally hilarious & engaging! They carry their love for the character to this day & in my daughter she will probably be a lifelong aficionado of SpongeBob! As will I probably self describe myself as also to anyone that will listen!
Could Gumby cost you your job? A recruit of a Big-8 accounting firm (this event happened long ago) wore a Gumby watch to a client’s office. He reported to me albeit a rather new employee myself. I was impressed that Gumby’s entire body functioned flawlessly as a wristband. There was no clasp. The small clock was embedded in Gumby’s torso. The design was clever. Apart from that, I was indifferent to it. Not long after I first noticed, someone much further up the ladder instructed me to have the newest guy remove his watch. The plebe was stunned that Gumby was unacceptable attire at this firm. I felt a little amused but sorry for him. The watched disappeared that day. The recruit disappeared after several more. I now wonder by who’s choice?
My Japanese friends don’t like licorice, but it’s more a flavor thing, many also hate fennel and star anise. There are many gloopy foods popular in Japan like squid, kurage, mochi, and slimy foods also popular (natto, okra, nameko, mozuku) and black foods are also trendy there: Starbucks Japan has a pitch black Frappuccino for Halloween and Burger King had an all black (including the bun) Whopper™︎ both colored with charcoal, and squid ink pasta is more common there. A Japanese equivalent to Gumby may be gudetama which is a lazy runny fried egg toy.
My siblings and I were big fans of the Gumby show and the “action figures.” The contortions we put them through eventually led to their wire skeletons to protrude through their bodies. We also loved the Blob movie. It inspired my brother and I to throw a bean bag chair into our sister’s room and shout “here comes the Blob!” She was terrified and we got in trouble for that. I hasten to add that we were almost always nice to her but sometimes boys can’t help themselves.
This is such an entertaining and resonant essay. I was scared of Gumby and clowns. I loved the smell of Play-dough and enjoyed the movie "The Blob." Had an Eloise doll and one called "Pitiful Pearl" - I think she was supposed to be, um, "disadvantaged." I have always been particularly obsessed with miniatures (Thus, my radio show, "A Miniature World,") although it is music and spoken word. Shrinking our gaze down, and adoration of small objects....Minds bigger than mine have written about the allure.
First, as a kid, I loved Gumby and Pokey. Claymation was early psychedelia, IMO, and (as my teens proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt) I absolutely LOVED psychedelics!
Second, my older brother, a mountaineer all his adult life, taught me that a 'gumby' is an ill-prepared or obstinately ignorant climber; the kind who gets other climbers hurt or calls for a helicopter rescue when he runs out of cocoa mix. The message was 'Don't be a gumby!'
He also sent me the link to this essay.
Third, about thirty years ago that same brother admitted he'd never gotten over his fascination with motorcycles. I've been riding a Harley all my adult life, and am always glad to add good people to the fold, so I gifted him a toy motorcycle as encouragement. A short while later, he sent me a photograph of Gumby and Pokey with the toy motorcycle. The accompanying note read 'Gumby says "Let's ride!"' That photo is framed and hanging above my left shoulder as I write this.
And yes, he did get a motorcycle of his own.
Finally, I have a Gumby and Pokey set I picked up just a few years ago, still in the package awaiting a good excuse to put them on display. Your essay just might inspire some experimentation of my own.
Enjoyed this. The most outre bit by far is the assertion that peanut butter & jelly isn’t about taste. That’s nuts. The rest is reasonable, and contains valuable advice.
What do kids play now instead of Cowboys & Indians… Pronouns & Land Acknowledgements? Has Cops & Robbers become Taxpayers & Looters?
Gumby always seemed psychedelia to me. Much more Miles Davis than The Blob. Punk rock. In the end Gumby & Pokey would often basically just say “f—I it” and fly away, presumably to someplace better.
Don’t most good people often all aspire to do the same?
1.) Gumby, Silly Putty, Play-Doh, Slinky... I loved them all. I had a strong aversion to plastic though. Refused to put my mouth on anything plastic and refused to eat with plastic utensils.
2.) Dude, how could you not play with your slinky? If you start it out just right, you can get a slinky to walk down an entire flight of stairs. It's amazing.
3.) If you had played with Gumby as a child, you would know that eventually (if you spend enough time bending it into different poses) the metal wires inside that allow it to retain a pose will pop through the rubber giving a young child an early lesson in aging and mortality. And also, you have to find new meaning and ways to play with the broken down disfigured formerly perfect Gumby.
4.) One of the most frustrating aspects of Gumby is that the natural desire to have Gumby ride Pokey is thoroughly thwarted by the fact that Gumby's crotch is triangular and Pokey's back is square. It's just impossible.
5.) I now want to obtain a Gumby.
6.) You could vary your experiment by only carrying around a Pokey.
I love seeing animated cartoons used as jumping off points for discussing philosophy!
In addition to Gumby, my childhood crew collected and adored what we called “wishniks” more widely known as trolls now. Hand sized rubbery naked dolls with fluorescent colored fuzz for hair that stood straight up. Really ugly things but adorable to us. Remember those?
I kept a Gumby on my desk throughout my thirties and into my forties. When asked why, I would say it was there to remind me to be flexible.
So what you seem to be pointing out, Ted, was that the adults who evinced a visceral thrill at the appearance of Gumby seem to have take a healthy imprint on Freud's oral and anal circuits from childhood and are not filled with revulsion and horror and inhibitions at the fact of our biological fluids, protoplasm, and other earthy gooey aspects of all that is viscous in our lives. This is the Ageless Hippie archetype, eh?
Or do I read too much into it? As another writer - was it Steve Almond? - thought: people who love to perform oral sex are liberals; those who find it a duty or something to overcome their disgust of...not liberals.
Tongue planted firmly in cheek here. Of course!
Reading this, I am now remembering that in high school, my debate partner and I had a Gumby that we also took everywhere. I, too, have no clear idea why.
And yes re: risk. I'm reminded of that saying about write about you fear writing the most. I'm currently in engaged in just that -- writing that is provocative enough that some people in my field of study are literally afraid to be seen having coffee with me. Thank you for reminding me that it's worth it -- writing something that is completely non threatening to anyone isn't worth the time.
I wonder of you could replace Gumby with SpongeBob SquarePants in your discussions about philosophy. He is a polarizing character that invokes either total contempt or total admiration to anyone regardless if they’ve seen the TV show or not.
I’ve found myself as a 30-something father of two young children, completely in love with the character! I throughly enjoyed the 12.5 minute show as I watched it with my kids who found the show totally hilarious & engaging! They carry their love for the character to this day & in my daughter she will probably be a lifelong aficionado of SpongeBob! As will I probably self describe myself as also to anyone that will listen!
Could Gumby cost you your job? A recruit of a Big-8 accounting firm (this event happened long ago) wore a Gumby watch to a client’s office. He reported to me albeit a rather new employee myself. I was impressed that Gumby’s entire body functioned flawlessly as a wristband. There was no clasp. The small clock was embedded in Gumby’s torso. The design was clever. Apart from that, I was indifferent to it. Not long after I first noticed, someone much further up the ladder instructed me to have the newest guy remove his watch. The plebe was stunned that Gumby was unacceptable attire at this firm. I felt a little amused but sorry for him. The watched disappeared that day. The recruit disappeared after several more. I now wonder by who’s choice?
My Japanese friends don’t like licorice, but it’s more a flavor thing, many also hate fennel and star anise. There are many gloopy foods popular in Japan like squid, kurage, mochi, and slimy foods also popular (natto, okra, nameko, mozuku) and black foods are also trendy there: Starbucks Japan has a pitch black Frappuccino for Halloween and Burger King had an all black (including the bun) Whopper™︎ both colored with charcoal, and squid ink pasta is more common there. A Japanese equivalent to Gumby may be gudetama which is a lazy runny fried egg toy.
Uh, I am a Doctor, although I've never played one on television.
Exactly how long have you been having these feelings about Jell-O?
My siblings and I were big fans of the Gumby show and the “action figures.” The contortions we put them through eventually led to their wire skeletons to protrude through their bodies. We also loved the Blob movie. It inspired my brother and I to throw a bean bag chair into our sister’s room and shout “here comes the Blob!” She was terrified and we got in trouble for that. I hasten to add that we were almost always nice to her but sometimes boys can’t help themselves.
There is, even as we speak, Gumby, sitting between my monitors holding my glasses for me while I peruse the Internet.
This is such an entertaining and resonant essay. I was scared of Gumby and clowns. I loved the smell of Play-dough and enjoyed the movie "The Blob." Had an Eloise doll and one called "Pitiful Pearl" - I think she was supposed to be, um, "disadvantaged." I have always been particularly obsessed with miniatures (Thus, my radio show, "A Miniature World,") although it is music and spoken word. Shrinking our gaze down, and adoration of small objects....Minds bigger than mine have written about the allure.
First, as a kid, I loved Gumby and Pokey. Claymation was early psychedelia, IMO, and (as my teens proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt) I absolutely LOVED psychedelics!
Second, my older brother, a mountaineer all his adult life, taught me that a 'gumby' is an ill-prepared or obstinately ignorant climber; the kind who gets other climbers hurt or calls for a helicopter rescue when he runs out of cocoa mix. The message was 'Don't be a gumby!'
He also sent me the link to this essay.
Third, about thirty years ago that same brother admitted he'd never gotten over his fascination with motorcycles. I've been riding a Harley all my adult life, and am always glad to add good people to the fold, so I gifted him a toy motorcycle as encouragement. A short while later, he sent me a photograph of Gumby and Pokey with the toy motorcycle. The accompanying note read 'Gumby says "Let's ride!"' That photo is framed and hanging above my left shoulder as I write this.
And yes, he did get a motorcycle of his own.
Finally, I have a Gumby and Pokey set I picked up just a few years ago, still in the package awaiting a good excuse to put them on display. Your essay just might inspire some experimentation of my own.
Sláinte!
Enjoyed this. The most outre bit by far is the assertion that peanut butter & jelly isn’t about taste. That’s nuts. The rest is reasonable, and contains valuable advice.
What do kids play now instead of Cowboys & Indians… Pronouns & Land Acknowledgements? Has Cops & Robbers become Taxpayers & Looters?
Gumby always seemed psychedelia to me. Much more Miles Davis than The Blob. Punk rock. In the end Gumby & Pokey would often basically just say “f—I it” and fly away, presumably to someplace better.
Don’t most good people often all aspire to do the same?
“I note that Sartre possessed a Gumby-ish face and figure.”
Young Ted nailed it! 😂🙌