The Characters I Wanted to Be

from Jody Feldman

I was just this side of shadowy childhood memories when Video Village came whirling its thrilling way onto our old TV screen. It may have been in black and white—at least it was for me; no color TV for years—but in my mind, it lit up with all the colors of the universe plus others that only my imagination could create. During its short run, I craved to move around that giant game board and fish, from the bridge, for gloriously wrapped presents.

When I started writing books that seemed to share a commonality, a longing to be part of such excitement, I didn’t populate the adventures with clones of me. I’m not sure I had all the necessary qualities, when I was 12 years old, to be those main characters. Now, however, I have the best time granting my characters the guts and the voice I hadn't yet found in myself. And I get to put them into circumstances I wish I’d been a part of. I may have failed, but I sure would have liked to try.