Michelangelo is a party dude…

Throughout my blogs, Facebook statuses, and everyday life, I often say something like “the Turtles”, “I got the Turtles”, “talking to one of my Turtles”; etc. Some of you may think to yourself… “what the hell is he talking about?”

The 11th day of July, in the year of our Lord 1990, (approximately) I had my first day of Kindy. On that first day, I met my friends Val and Luke. The three of us almost instantly became best friends. My mother ended up becoming friends with Val’s mom also, which led to my strong connection to Val. During our holiday breaks, Val’s mom would watch us since my mother worked, leaving Val and I more of an opportunity to spend time together. Val and I were only children (at the time) and Luke is the baby of his family, with a fairly good size gap between him and older siblings.

The 5th day of December 1991, my father died. When classes started back up in January, there was a new kid at school named Phil. Being the teacher’s pet (as I always strived to be in elementary) I was volunteered to show new guy around. So I spent the day with this new Phil fellow, turns out, he was a bit of alright. I told Val and Luke I thought so, and they accepted him also. He also happened to be an only child (at the time) like Val and me. The trio had a new member, and we became four. Now, this is 1991, four elementary school aged boys, if we weren’t playing soccer on the fields, what do you think we were pretending to be?

If you guessed the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, well, by golly, you’d be right. If you didn’t guess that because you didn’t know them, take the time to read what Wikipedia says on the subject:

“The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four mutant turtles who were trained by an anthropomorphic, talking rat sensei, Master Splinter, in the art of Ninjitsu. From their home in the storm sewers of New York, they battle petty criminals, evil megalomaniacs, and alien invaders, all while remaining isolated from society at large. The characters initially appeared in comic books before being licensed for toys, cartoons and film adaptations. During the peak of its popularity in the late 1980s through early 1990s, the franchise gained considerable worldwide success and fame. The turtles bear the first names of the famous Renaissance artists Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, Raffaello “Raphael” Sanzio da Urbion, and Donato “Donatello” di Niccolo di Betto Bardi.”


“Ok Edward, I’m with you so far… I guess… so, which one of you were which?”

Glad you asked, the funny thing is, our personalities are relatively the same now as they were when we were kids. So, to continue using Wikipedia:

“Leonardo - The courageous leader and devoted student of martial arts, Leonardo wears a blue mask and wields two katanas. He is the eldest of the four and the most skilled fighter of the turtles. "Leo" was named after the Italian polymath, scientist, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, Leonardo Da Vinci”

Ya… that would be me, the courageous Leader. The devoted student, well, I am the only one with a black belt, so, maybe, but definitely not the best school student of the group. I’m also not the eldest, I’m actually the 3rd. Leonardo however did invent more things related to war then the other 3 artist (real Leo, not Turtle Leo).

“Donatello - The brilliant scientist, inventor, engineer, and technological genius, Donatello wears a purple mask and wields the bō staff "Don" is perhaps the least violent Turtle, preferring to use his intellect to solve conflicts. He is named after the sculptor Donatello.”

Well, I don’t know if Luke is really truly “brilliant” but, he has always been the techy of the group, even when we were kids. He is definitely, and by far, the least violent of the 4 of us (his voting record shows it) but we love him (even if he is a pansy).

“Raphael - The team's bad boy, Raphael wears a red mask and wields a pair of sai. He has an aggressive nature and seldom hesitates to throw the first punch. He is an intense fighter. His personality can be alternately fierce and sarcastic, and often times delivers deadpan humor. Still, he is intensely loyal to his brothers and sensei. "Raph" is good friends with Casey Jones. He is named after the Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance, Raphael Sanzio.”

Val never cared if he was popular in High School, he just was. I don’t know if you can really say one of us is the bad boy, but Val does make a good candidate. A trait he has much more in common with me then with Luke, is his willingness to fight. Leo and Raph fight the most, but are also most dedicated to each other, quite similiarly, there have been times Val and I nearly killed each other, but have been at the other’s side when it was most direly needed. And just like Leo does with Raph, I look out for Val like an overprotective older brother, but that doesn’t mean Val hasn’t turned around and saved MY ass a few times when I needed it. I could go on about my friendship with Val, but this isn’t about him, wait 2 months (exactly) for that one.

Finally…

“Michelangelo - Easy-going free-spirited, Michelangelo wears an orange mask and wields nunchaku. "Mikey" provides much of the comic relief. While he loves to relax, this Turtle also has an adventurous and creative side. He is the youngest of the four. He is named after Michelangelo Buonarroti. His name was originally misspelled "Michaelangelo" by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman – at the time they did not own a dictionary”

Easy-going and free-spirited, I could not have really described Phil any better than that really…

So, besides the fact I’ve known them forever, what makes them so special?
Val and Luke are the ONLY friends I have that knew me while my Father was alive. There is however a special place in my heart for Phil, you see… Phil was the very first friend I made AFTER my father died.

Phil, without knowing it at the time (I didn’t even realize it for years) was the person, who gave me back a normal routine. Making a friend so soon, helped me get the concept of life going on. And what a friend… of ALL people for me to make friends with after something horrible like that, who better then a guy who smiles all the time like he slept with a cloths hanger in his mouth. He is so filled with joy. Ya, he has his bad days, but he treats them much better than the rest of us. Me and him can both be having a bad day, I’ll go over and talk to him, and he’ll just talk to me about what is going on with me, and I have to pull what’s wrong with him out like a Chinese torture chamber. He doesn’t feel the need to concern the world with his problems, part of it is his lone wolf-ness, but I think the other part of it, is his protective spirit. Father of the year might not be what he dreamed of become when we were young, but he makes for a great daddy with his caring and nurturing nature.

He was the first of us to have a real job, buy a car, move away from home, get married, and the first of us to have kids. Assuming he wasn’t in there with us saying “man, we really screwed up this time”; he is, without a doubt, the guy that Val, Luke, and I would call at 3 am to bail us out of jail. He has already bailed me out of a couple dead car battery experiences.

Despite all the time that we missed out on during the separation years (wait 2 months again for the 2nd half of the Turtle story); I can NOT imagine what my life would be like without Phil. I don’t think it is a coincidence that his name is short for the Greek word for “Brotherly love”, because I philos Phil as much as a man can philos another human. His wife Angie, son Nic, and daughter Sonia, are blessed to be tied to someone as loyal and dependable as Phil. Val, Luke and I are lucky to have him as a friend, and we are blessed to count him as a brother.

So, while the rest of the world celebrates the birth of the King of Rock n’ Roll, I celebrate the birth of one of God’s best creations, and the best person a man could call a friend…

Happy Birthday Filemon Joseph M. (A.K.A. Mikey)
:)