MAD for LIFE, Yo!

What Me Worry?
I'm about fourteen in this picture. I'm dressed as Alfred E. Newman for Halloween. I loved MAD Magazine, ever since I was a little kid, and I never had any peers who were into it, which made me like it even more. When I found the official Alfred E. costume kit in the $1 clearance bin of Ross or some such place I was most stoked. It came with ears, tooth black, temporary red hair dye and a freckles pencil. My mom helped me fashion the costume. Those are my real life favorite pants. I wore them with my Echo and The Bunnymen T-shirt. I was very cool.

Note the tiny pumpkin. I love miniatures. I really wanted minature pets. I tried to be satisfied with Sea Monkeys and Hermit crab, but I really wanted miniature lions, and miniature gazelles each living in their own miniature habitats, and once a week or so a gazelle would have to switch tanks, 'cause lions gotta eat. Mini penguins would of course live in the freezer, and that would be the coolest. No mini polar bears though, 'cause I couldn't stand to have anything eating my penguins. Penguins are cute, gazelles, not so much.

I did an informal survey, and most of my guy friends either wanted mini pets at some point in their lives, or started wanting them as soon as described the lion/gazelle scenario. Most women I talked with thought I was nuts and did not want mini pets!? I also noticed most of my aquarium geek friends were male!? Any psychology students out there want to help me understand this?

That's James, my little brother, with me in the pic. He's not dressed for halloween. That's just what he looks like. There was nothing the surgeons could do.

Thanks to my cousin Tracy for sending me this picture.