Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

Denise Rosenau Column, 6/17/02



Who is this Sponge Bob-guy and why is he influencing
our adults as much as the kids?

Sponge Bob Square Pants is a cartoon on Nick
TV. He’s a square-shaped, clothes-wearing sponge that lives in
the ocean with his ocean friends and ocean scenery.

He has several friends, including a starfish,
a squid, a squirrel, and a lobster boss.
His squirrel friend Sandy has to wear an oxygen helmet while
underwater because she can’t breathe without it.

Sponge Bob himself can’t breathe out of the
water, so he has to wear a water-filled helmet if he will be
out of the water. At the same time, if he is out of the water
with his helmet on and jumps into some water, he absorbs all
the water and grows huge.

Oddly enough, though, fire burns just fine
under water.

Hmmmmm …

It’s too hard to explain all there is to explain
about Sponge Bob, so I will just have to ask you to sit down
and watch it once to get an understanding of what is sweeping
the nation in family humor. It is nice to see a cartoon without
anyone fighting and without teaching kids new ways to smart off.
Sponge Bob is just good, clean fun.

I come to work and hear “Did you see
that Sponge Bob episode where (insert funny Sponge Bob episode
info here)?” Looking around the office, I saw no children
in the room.

We do occasionally have children of employees
here at work, but these words are coming from adults.

My husband and I have a friend, a man in his
mid-20s, that is often seen out wearing one of his several Sponge
Bob shirts. It sure seems to be a good conversation starter for
him, and he is a single guy. Coincidence? (Single, mid 20s, likes
cartoons – perfect for a single mom, perhaps?)

What really made Sponge Bob-mania sink in
for me was while shopping in Walmart with my family, I saw my
quiet, reserved husband swinging his hips around and saying “Bring
it arrrrroooouuunnnddd town!” Then I witnessed my oldest
son practically falling on the floor in a fit of laughter.

I still don’t get it, but then again, I haven’t
watched nearly enough Sponge Bob to be able to understand.

I realized at that point that I had better
get with the program (literally and figuratively) and watch some
Sponge Bob, because I didn’t know what that meant or why my kid
was losing oxygen. I’m still not sure, but I’ve been hearing
more and more about “bringing it around town.”

One of these days I do plan to take in a little
Sponge Bob Square Pants on TV. I think then my kid might really
think I’m cool.

After all, he is only 8-years-old, and it
won’t be long before I am just a dorky mom. I need to take the
coolness when I can get it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.