Wild Kingdom or Fuzzy Memories: Take 1
Ok… let me start off by saying that one of the things I wanted to do when we first started out with this “blog” thing was to kinda open the vault into the company and the cool stuff we’re doing and planning. A novel idea in theory, but when you do actually do that you let the cat out of the bag on things you really shouldn’t. Products and projects wouldn’t quite have the same effect if everybody knew about them, and then sometimes you end up sounding like a commercial… which is far from what we want to do.
So, what do you do when you’re supposed to write stuff? Ah, the answer I’ve come up with is to reach into your mind and pull out the first thing your fingers squish. Hence you have my latest offering which won’t make sense at first, but will later… maybe even leaking into another blog here and there.
One of my best fuzzy memories growing up was watching the incredibly kid-friendly Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. The reason I say “fuzzy” is because it was a long time ago and remembering it is like watching an old UHF television channel: no matter what you did to those rabbit ears the picture always had snow and occasional lapses in viewing pleasure. It’s not like trying to watch ON-TV or Select TV on channel 22 or 52 (first cable stations for those of you too wee in years to remember). I mean with those you could spend hours just staring at a green, red, blue and yellow swirl of squiggly lines just to see a leg or something. Hours into it you may even see a clear picture, only to have it replaces with the color blob. Oh, but those few moments of victory over “the Man” provided bragging rights at school the next day.
What was I talking about? Oh yeah, Wild Kingdom! What a great show! For those of you who never watched this wonder each show was introduced by the host, Marlin Perkins, in his office. The office was filled with books and maps and souvenirs brought back from what could have been great adventures and expeditions to parts unknown. Sometimes he’d have an animal guest in the office, a monkey or tiger, which added to the fascination. The introduction usually started with an explanation of what we were going to see during the 30 minutes of adventure with the host pointing to a zone on a globe. Sometimes it was something adorable like watching cubs play around, but mostly we have treated the raw, savage rules of the jungle where the Alpha Male ruled his territory. The cool thing is that they would trank and tag an animal and follow it when it woke up to see how it interacted with the rest of the jungle world…. always watched and never being seen. Kinda like jungle ninja. By doing this they learned all kinds of valuable info.
So where am I going with this little portion of my childhood? One can put to good use what I learned from that show in the world of automotive progress and design The funny thing is that sometimes from where I am I feel as if I am on that TV safari… observing the alpha male pound his chest and roar to show his supremacy, or seeing the bloody battle to see who rules the pride. Examples: at an auto show listening to folks in the crowd, or better yet the most dangerous place on the net… the “forums”. I mean, where else can you see nature’s wildest beasts tear into each other with such venom and fury? Have an opinion or a question and who takes the lead of the thread: none other than the Alpha Male. What’s better is when there is a challenger or two… and then the fur flies as they claw, bite, and ram each other into oblivion. The funny thing is that the loudest, I mean “strongest” Alpha Male is usually wrong with his stance, but he is the leader of his land none the less.
Next time you’re bored and hankering for action, put on your adventure gear and let your fingers guide you to some of the best fights in the animal kingdom by surfing your favorite forums. It’s a jungle out there.