Charlie Magdaleno: Blog

Howdy partners,

I decided for this week's article to go lighter on the content (both subject and length-wise) and give you a quick read that maybe, just maybe, will make you smirk a time or two.

Have you ever heard of the game Donkey Kong Country?  If you haven't, it's an old video game that came out for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), or the Super Famicom as our Japanese friends probably know it, that showcases Donkey Kong (from the original NES Donkey Kong games) taking over the protagonist role alongside his kid-nephew Diddy Kong.  Their mission is to retrieve their banana hoard from the evil King K. Rool and the Kremling Krew.

In any case, it's a really great game and it's available as a download for the Nintendo Wii for those who have it.

However, while trying to figure out what to write this week's blog about and suffering through watching my friend, though I love her to death, miss the same barrel shot 12 times in a row, or jumping into Zingers (bees with spikes on their backs) as opposed to over, she suggested that I write about how "Donkey Kong teaches you about life."  And well, that was all the convincing I needed.

So without further ado, here are 10 rules that Donkey Kong Country teaches us about life:

1. You are a role model to the children in your life. And, at the very least in their presence, you should behave as such.  I mean really, what kind of uncle tells his nephew, "I know you're probably 10 years old at most, but how would you like to come with me and risk your life against an entire army of crocodiles (and other animals) to save a giant pile of bananas?  Oh, and just grab your hat before we leave, we won't be needing pants on this adventure."  Way to emphasis the truly important, and disturbing, things in life Mr. Kong.

2. Respect and listen to your elders. They have an incredible amount of wisdom and advice to help you succeed in life.  Plus, maybe if you'd show their grumpy-selves some appreciation, they wouldn't charge you for said wisdom.

3. Don't judge a book by its cover. Hey you see that guy over there with the purple bandana and the tattered tank top?  Yeah, the guy who walks around with a boom box and calls everyone "Dude" five times in the same sentence?  Well I hope you took the time to not be a jerk because that overly "relaxed" surfer happens to be the only pilot on the island and it would really suck to have to walk all the way out of this woodland forest (why there is a forest as well as a jungle, I don't know) back to your house. 

4. Take care of your friends or they'll leave you. It's one of the most simple lessons you can ever learn.  Whether they're the only kid who was nice to you the first day at your new high school or a rhinoceros you just met, if you don't look out for their emotional, and at the very least physical, well-being they'll take off for a friend that will.  

5. Take advantage and truly be grateful when someone gives you a second chance.  It's an opportunity to learn from your mistakes and become a better, more successful human being.  Also, in real life, unlike in video games, you won't just get one because you collected 100 bananas.

6. Strive to be above adversity. If you decide to just jump head first into it, you're going to lose.

7. Timing is everything. Whether it's shooting yourself from one barrel to another over a bottomless pit or deciding whether or not to quit your steady job to pursue your true passion, take a moment to figure out when the right time to act is, and if it's now.  Your life may depend on it.

8. Appreciate the love in your life.  Even if they ARE a blonde monkey dressed in a pink stripper outfit.  They can be great reminders of who and where you were before you lost your head in a fight with an armadillo over a cheap gold square with your initial in it, or have just been swamped at work.

9. Face and eliminate your demons, or they will keep coming back. Next time it'll be as a Kaptain, and then a Kount.  You can't just jump on top of the head of evil and leave it seeing stars.  You've got to destroy it lest you want to keep facing it again and again.

10. Keep it in perspective.  We've all been there, lost in our own little worlds taking every little thing that goes wrong as some earth-shattering tragedy.  Sooner or later you've got to remember that it's just a game and take a step back in order to see how insignificant it all is compared to everything else life has to offer.  Like sleep.

I hope you have a great week and I look forward to sharing with you again next week.

Charlie