Thomas: Cartoons contain life lessons

I was watching cartoons the other day. Now I know that might make some people shake their head thinking, "I'm too old to be watching cartoons" others will smile and think, "Which cartoons?"

I was flipping through the channels when much to my delight I saw Angry Beavers was about to start. It is a cartoon about, well, you guessed it, two angry beavers name Norbert and Daggett Beaver. It aired on Nickelodeon from 1997-2001.

Norb and Dagg would get into all kinds of trouble, they were constantly competing with one another. In fact, the only thing they loved more than fighting with each other were stuffed jalapenos.

One of my all time favorite episodes was when Norb and Dagg had to dam up two rivers; naturally Norb finished first and had built a glorious dam. Dagg, well he had issued, as the river he was supposed to dam was very much alive.

All of Dagg's efforts were in vain as the river just fought back and spited the poor beaver. He tried to enlist Norb's help but he was just met with jeers and sarcastic responses.

Dagg returns to the task at hand and continues to meet with failure and despite the ridicule of his brother from before, he pleads for help. Eventually Norb sees that the river truly is alive and has malicious intents towards his brother and joins the efforts to dam the river.

This made me think about how a lot of us have experienced a similar situation in our lives. We were working on a project or situation and met with adversity, which we could not overcome and when we reached out for help were met with sarcasm or snide attitude.

I don't know about you, though this has made me angry and at times it discouraged me even more.

Though I have to say I have also witnessed this done to some of my friends and that made me even more upset than when it happened to me.

I can say that recently I witnessed a friend overcome a series of challenges and while it could have been easier to just throw in the towel they stuck with it and saw it through.

Needless to say they have always had my respect. It just made me that much more impressed with their toughness and character.

There is an old saying: "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." What that means or what I think that means is when a situation becomes difficult, those strong individuals encountering that situation get fully involved in that situation and push forward.

Sometimes I know it seems like it would be easier to just give up and walk away, though as my mom would say "Thomas, you're just too stubborn to give up, aren't you."

She's right of course. I am stubborn but I also feel if something is right, then I need to stay the course.

Funny, how a cartoon can make you think about a life lesson, and all this time people said it would rot my mind.

Now, if you'll excuse me Scooby Doo is on and, well, I think it's time for another epiphany. Or maybe I'm just in need of a few good laughs.

Thomas Garcia writes for Clovis Media Inc. Contact him at:

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