Today I had an appointment with a doctor who specializes in sports medicine. First of all let’s get this out in the open; I am not an athlete. The reason I am seeing this particular doctor is actually far too embarrassing to get into. But I will anyway. You see, it involves walking. Not extreme walking. Not walking on hot coals. Not wing walking at 30 thousand feet. No, this was just regular old one foot in front of the other, humans have been doing it for quite some time now, walking. There was a mishap when the right foot lost communication with the left foot after stepping into a poorly placed pit in the ground. Needless to say the pit in the ground was not in the flight plan. So, that in a nutshell is how I ended up injured and under the care of a bone and ligament healer type person.
But that amusing little bit actually has nothing to do with this piece. You see while in the Doctor’s office waiting patiently for my appointment I thoughtlessly took up the number one waiting room activity: Reading Stale Magazines. After pawing through piles of Ladies Home Journal and Women’s Day circa 1998 I caught a glimpse of an old friend. Under the stacks of meatloaf recipe filled, weight loss promising glossies it was there. In bright shining orange with the giant H peeking out at me, it was an issue of Highlights magazine. The quintessential children’s magazine, was smiling up at me promising “Fun with a Purpose” as it had in countless pediatricians’ waiting rooms when I was a child. I snatched the copy from under the piles and quickly returned to my seat.
Flipping through the pages, everything looked brighter and more colorful than I remembered. The pages were sort of glossy more like a real magazine. The features looked the same, Hidden Pictures, Check and Check Again, and of course the dreaded Timbertoes comic.
And then, I saw it, now in color but still recognizable, it was Goofus and Gallant. Gallant all shiny and right, with impeccable manners, thoughtful gestures and sappy empathy. With nicely groomed professional cartoon parents who praised him for every perfect little deed. And then there was Goofus. With his messy hair and overtly obvious faux pas involving poor manners, dishonesty and overall weaseliness. I always felt bad for Goofus. I remember as a child I would sometimes make up excuses for his poor behavior. Maybe Goofus didn’t realize he was eating the last cookie. Maybe Goofus had a bad day at school. After all of that admonition from his parents I wondered if Goofus ended up as some kind of cartoon serial killer. Hopefully he got therapy. Luckily I did. And now that I am no longer into seeking out and defending the bad boy, I have a greater appreciation for the Gallants out in the world.
While Gallant was annoyingly perfect, he was the hero. And as adults we could all learn a lot from Gallant. Holding the door for someone, letting someone cut in front in traffic and complimenting a stranger are all very grown up Gallant actions. Now if I could just rustle up some of those cartoon perfect praising parents. 
