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For those unfamiliar with Pipi check this out. I know it does come off a bit b movie.  But for a 9 year old the adventure is all that really matters.  I didn’t even realize the film was dubbed until now.  I just figured Pipi and friends were chewing gum. Funny thing is, Pipi is a major influence to why I became an actor.  Yeah, kind of embarrassing.  Not so glamorous as saying Brando inspired me.  It’s a long story, but come take a walk down memory lane with me.

I’m 9 years old.  Dad was away working for peanuts and Mom had a couple of jobs cleaning rich people homes.  My mother is like an over the hill boxer.  She just can’t stop fighting.  Mom had simple goals, to give me opportunity, a choice in life. Cleaning toilets for rich people were punches she was willing if it meant I wouldn’t have to when I grew up.  If I could go back, I would’ve helped my mom clean those toilets.  If I could go back I would make her breakfast, lunch and dinner.  At times I have an over whelming feeling of guilt about how selfish I was.  If I could go back in time, I would be a better son.   Man, did I have a shallow perspective.  I so wanted her to be more than just a broken English-speaking housekeeper.  I couldn’t see she was much more than that.  I couldn’t see that she was a relentless fighter.  A champion without a title.  Anytime I feel like saying F@^& off to acting, I think of my mothers fight.  I will be my mother’s victory, her title belt.  Her hard work has given me opportunity, a choice to pursue my dream. So shut up, stop bitching and go!  During the summers mom would take me to the homes she cleaned.  I refused to go in and sat in the car.  It tore her up and eventually she let me stay home.  That summer, I was feeling so much anger, so much jealousy, and so much shame.  I was in a way depressed.  For a 9 year old it’s hard to understand all these complex feelings.  With no one to talk to or anyway to vent I went a little crazy.  I decided to run away.  So I packed everything I would need.  A moon pie, a roll of quarters, and my sling shot.  I got to the train tracks, but no train came.  I went home thinking I would try again tomorrow.  Bored and frustrated I watched TV to kill time.   A movie about a odd looking girl named Pipi Long Stocking Film was on.  Pipi and friends went on a journey because the local officials wanted put her in foster care.  She went on a search for her legendary pirate father to prove to everyone she wasn’t an orphan.  Pipi and I had so many parallels, poor and different.  But where Pipi and differed was that she was an eternal optimist, unashamed of who she is, she lived each day proud of who she was, who her father and mother were.  Even her rich friends with the perfect home and face looked up to her.    She was so optimistic about her life.  Everything always worked out for her.  And she has a lot of fun.  Another Pipi Long Stocking film was scheduled to play the next day.  I couldn’t run away, I had to tune in to Pipi’s next adventure.  There you have it.  What’s the cheesiest film that had impact on your life?