Why Goonies Never Say Die!

Remember the line in The Goonies, when Mikey yells “Goonies never say die!”?  If this mission statement holds true, then I AM A GOONIE.  There is a certain personality type, which I happen to have, that can be described (as an ex-boyfriend of mine so indelicately put it) as RELENTLESS.  Now, I am sure he meant to say something like “persistent” or “dedicated” or “indefatigable”; but in the heat of the moment, what came out was relentless. 

I realize that does not sound very good; but believe me when I say it sure comes in handy most of the time.  In parenting, in relationships, in a natural disaster…seriously, these are all situations that call for a little relentlessness.  If you really think about it, I am sure you will see things my way.  No, really.  I am right about this.  Really, I am.  No, really...AND I WILL KEEP AT YOU UNTIL YOU COMPLETELY AGREE WITH ME!!!  Ha.

I am descended, on my Mother’s side of the family, from the actual people who came over on the actual Mayflower; pilgrim stock.  Right away you know that I am genetically disinclined to allowing people to tell me what to do (not even kings!).  In fact, tell me I can’t do something and I am likely to embark on a harrowing journey to a new continent and face disease, famine, even death to get away from you...YOU and your CRAZY RULES. 

I am admittedly a watered down version of my Mom, who has always taken her relentlessness to a superhuman level--she makes me seem lazy by comparison.  But still, I hate to procrastinate; if it needs to be done, better yesterday than tomorrow!  Forget about making lists, let’s just bang this thing out RIGHT NOW!  To quote another great line:  plenty of time for sleeping when you’re dead...right???

I have never entirely given up on anyone or anything in my life.  I cling to relationships like a barnacle; just TRY to shake me!  I will listen to your problems and give you good advice.   If you ignore my advice, I will still listen to your problems in the future…just not that same one I already gave you good advice about that you ignored because that ship has sailed, baby!!!   I always do my best to never miss an opportunity to be with you, even if it means driving hundreds of miles with a kid round trip in one day…I am really just that dedicated. 

I also refuse to give up on my dreams, no matter how many times or how hard I am slapped down.  What is life without our dreams?  What is the point if we are not striving joyfully for a cherished goal?  Plus, how awesome would it be to tell the very people who slapped me down in the past, “Check me out now!” It would be seriously awesome, that is how awesome!

And here’s another thing:  have you ever been having an argument with a desperately obtuse sparring partner, and having made your point brilliantly time and time again to no avail, been told to “drop it”?  If you are anything like me, although you may walk away in the moment, “dropping it” is NOT an option.  Because there are some people, and I won’t affix a label here, but let’s say people who refuse to accept even irrefutable evidence of the FACTS…people who deny the overwhelming scientific and easily observable confirmation of global climate change, just for one example. 

The older I get, the more I am able to accept that it is a fool’s game to even engage with such people, because they live in a delusional bubble where things like “the truth” and “definitive proof” are meaningless.  But that does not mean I have “dropped it”; part of me is fantasizing about a day where I get to say “I told you so”, even if it means witnessing the destruction of our home planet.  THAT, my friends, is relentless. 

And if you can relate to anything I’m saying here, then you just might be a Goonie too!

Now, it is important to add at this point that Goonies are not IDIOTS.  We trust rejection, knowing that one closed door is meaningless in a world that is literally FULL of doors!  We also know that “quitting” does not mean you are “quitter” because people who have “quit” things—jobs, marriages, social obligations, self-destructive behaviors, limiting belief systems—are more often than not incredibly brave folks who took a stand for themselves, their health, their well-being and their futures, often in the face of judgment, often with the consequence of losing a support system, always with the chaos that major life changes bring. 

But here is why we Goonies never say die:  we are loyal, driven and (mostly) unafraid of looking foolish.  We have confidence in our work and we work really hard.  We have conviction in our opinions because they are all elaborately researched and considered.  We have hope in our dreams because we are relentlessly optimistic. 

And we are astoundingly brave, because it is the relentless optimism that gets our hearts broken constantly and catastrophically.  But we keep on going because we realize life is an adventure, and even if all we get out of it is a lousy “participation ribbon”, just sitting in the audience is not an option.  We have too much energy, too much strength, too many thoughts and too much love not to participate as wholly as we can in as many ways as we can manage.  We are Pilgrims and we realize that every day is a new world, if only you are brave enough to discover it.  Might you be a Goonie too?

Goonies never say die.