As I write this, we’ve just passed the Easter weekend celebration. That makes this an ideal time to once again reference the document mentioned previously that includes the note: “GI Joes crucified.”
I mentioned this blog to my cousin a few weeks ago, but I have no idea if he ever looks/looked at it. I may discover the answer to that question as I write this post about him.
When we were kids in the Catholic Church, we often used play to reflect on our faith. Like many Catholic boys, at some point I considered becoming a priest. One time I played at celebrating Mass, using the round discs from some board game as Communion wafers. I have no idea who the recipients of these cardboard wafers were; if it was my stuffed animals, that would be an intriguing variation on the classic kids’ tea party.
In a variation of this urge to recreate one’s religious belief, one Good Friday my cousin decided to create a timely tableau by making three crosses and tying or nailing (I forget which) three unclad GI Joes to these crosses. He then dug three holes in which the crosses could stand up.
My memory tells me that his mother discovered this and made him dismantle them, fearing more pre-serial killer cruelty than fervent Catholicism. I served as a bystander, watching him put this together, and who knows if that planted more seeds for my eventual theatrical career at such a young age.
MUSOFYR 