{"id":334,"date":"2026-05-01T15:55:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T20:55:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pinpoints.community\/hey\/?p=334"},"modified":"2026-05-01T15:55:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T20:55:24","slug":"mouse-in-the-house-tommy-pickles-as-epic-hero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pinpoints.community\/hey\/?p=334","title":{"rendered":"Mouse in the House: Tommy Pickles as Epic Hero"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Oh, we live in such perilous times. Our leaders tell us to fear the unknown, to distrust the things that we can<\/em>\u2018t see. We appeal to you, Klasky-Csupo, Nickelodeon, Peter Gaffney, muses and sages all. Tell us the tale of Tommy the Brave, whose adventures in the playpen and garage may inspire us to face the monsters with courage and curiosity.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shattered glass, a scream from grandpa. Some calamity has befallen the house of Pickles, caused by some unseen force. Tommy and Chuckie had been engaged in the time-honored tradition of childhood play. Tommy had led Chuckie under the rug to explore whatever there was to find. Their exit, the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, is Spike the Dog. His snout marks the spot of egress \u2013 a return to their world \u2013 but peace will not be found. Something has wreaked havoc in the garage, and the adults are looking for someone to blame. Tommy watches his father and grandfather reach the same conclusion simultaneously, hears the words of grandpa echo as Tommy\u2019s friend Spike is banished the doghouse. \u201cIn my day, we kept critters outside where they belonged.\u201d Fascist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Okay, maybe I\u2019m being too harsh on Grandpa. And maybe him initially blaming the calamity on \u201choodlums\u201d wasn\u2019t a dog whistle. But, to me, both comments indicate a flirtation with coldness for his fellow creatures. And it doesn\u2019t square with my view of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It doesn\u2019t square with Tommy\u2019s, either. \u201cIt\u2019s not fair!\u201d he shouts. This one-year-old can see it, plain as day. Spike couldn\u2019t have caused the mess in the garage because he was with Tommy and Chuckie in the living room. What Tommy is bearing witness to is adults\u2019 proclivity for injustice. There\u2019s a desire to find a villain as quickly as possible, because we want our stories to function. And you can\u2019t have misfortune without someone to blame. I\u2019m not saying anything new when I remind you that \u201cOur children are watching\u201d is a powerful statement, confirming that our words and actions as adults will help to shape the words and actions of those younger than us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankfully, children don\u2019t simply copy their parents\u2019 worldviews. Their own experiences shape their understanding. So, we have Tommy pushing back on the established narrative that Spike caused the mess. This comes with its own question, raised by Chuckie: \u201cIf Spike didn\u2019t do it, who did?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before we get an answer, the babies are visited by Tommy\u2019s maternal grandparents. Boris, his grandfather, tells the babies a folk tale about a young man named Hiyam walking into the woods. Hiyam is the hero of the story, brave enough to enter a place that would terrify you or me. Within these woods, Hiyam hears the horrifying sound of a dybbuk. To explain this Yiddish word, Boris rephrases it: \u201ca monster.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He goes on to tell the babies that Hiyam drew his klobbermeister \u201chigh into the air\u201d since the dybbuk could attack from anywhere. Yet we don\u2019t see the ending of the story. We see instead a dark and stormy night give way to a beautiful sunrise. We are safe \u2013 for now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why the qualifier? Because Spike is still chained up outside, still relegated to his doghouse for a crime he didn\u2019t commit. He sadly refuses a pet from Stu; Stu is forlorn as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tommy continues to question the situation, which strikes him as similar to the story of the dybbuk. Something is causing trouble, and it\u2019s still on the loose. Right on cue, we see the red-tinged point of view of the malevolent force. It sneaks into the living room, climbs up the chair and leaps upon the shelf. Books and a lamp fall, chaos reigns. And once again, Spike is wrongfully blamed. Tommy tells his friends that the real culprit is a monster who is coming for the babies. Something must be done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tommy calls upon his friends to help him stop the monster. It\u2019s too scary, they say. We do not have the legendary klobbermeister at our disposal. But Tommy demands their commitment to the cause. They must journey to where this all began: the Belly of the Whale \u2013 the garage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The babies arm themselves and brave the wasteland of the kitchen, avoiding detection by the parents. Within the garage, they face many shocking sights. First they see a multi-eyed, sharp-toothed beast; Chuckie\u2019s flashlight reveals it to be a family car. Next is a bug-eyed being with an open maw; the flashlight shows two lamps. But a few minutes later, the lamp illuminates what appears to be a dinosaur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet the babies don\u2019t recoil in horror. Perhaps they\u2019ve learned to suspend judgement; perhaps they\u2019re frozen in shock. What emerges is the true culprit of all this mess: a mouse. The babies, having never seen such a creature, wonder what it is. Could this thing be a monster? It\u2019s too small to be a full-grown version; perhaps it, too, is a baby. Tommy\u2019s assessment states the message clearly: \u201cIt\u2019s not really all that scary when you see it up close.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s trying to say hello,\u201d Chuckie says. Tommy reaches out: \u201cWe come in peace.\u201d Tommy just about makes contact in a scene befitting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. But they\u2019re interrupted by the adults opening the garage door. Stu reacts in fear; Grandpa basically calls him a coward; Spike is called to save the day. One terse bark sends the mouse scurrying away. Spike has returned to his rightful place in the house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what about Tommy and his friends? They\u2019re changed by their descent into this haunted realm. They share stories about their experience, saying they weren\u2019t scared. Tommy says he doesn\u2019t expect to ever see that mouse monster again. But immediately there\u2019s another commotion. Stu cries out for his wife while a wide smile grows on Tommy\u2019s face. He delights in the return of the mouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I like that we don\u2019t see what happens next. I appreciate that the story once again ends on a daybreak of sorts. I am glad that there is a person who finds joy in discovery, in making connections with monsters. There is so much distrust and strife in this world. Tommy Pickles teaches us that bravery and curiosity forge a better one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Oh, we live in such perilous times. Our leaders tell us to fear the unknown, to distrust the things that we can\u2018t see. We appeal to you, Klasky-Csupo, Nickelodeon, Peter Gaffney, muses and sages all. Tell us the tale of Tommy the Brave, whose adventures in the playpen and garage may inspire us to face […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[18,5,10],"class_list":["post-334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-essay","tag-paul","tag-writing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pinpoints.community\/hey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pinpoints.community\/hey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pinpoints.community\/hey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinpoints.community\/hey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinpoints.community\/hey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=334"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pinpoints.community\/hey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":335,"href":"https:\/\/pinpoints.community\/hey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334\/revisions\/335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pinpoints.community\/hey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinpoints.community\/hey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinpoints.community\/hey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}