April 21, 2013

They Call me Rick. Rick Grimes. Sheriff Rick of The Walking Dead







Walking Dead Website



I was sick a couple of weeks ago, feeling and looking DISGUSTING. My head throbbed like a Dickinson "funeral in my brain and mourners to and fro" poem. My eyes leaked like a plague victim in The Stand. My only incentive for living was the Walking Dead marathon, which I'd have gotten out of bed to watch even if it meant slouching towards the sofa like a rough beast.

Everyone in my family LOVES The Walking Dead. We sync our iPads to The Walking Dead site. We vote in the polls. We get extra newsy tidbits reserved for fans. We're freakishly attached to The Talking Dead show, a discussion group immediately following Walking Dead episodes. We play The Walking Dead board game as a family and for Christmas, we got Walking Dead action figures to fit our personalities according to the Walking Dead Personality Test: Which Character are You? 

My sister's personality was a match for...duh, can you guess: Andrea. My nephew tested out as Dale, my son Glenn Rhee, and my daughter as T-Dog. Unfortunately, nearly all of these characters have died yet their memories shall live forever in our motley crew. Poor Andrea. May she rest in peace. Truthfully though? That chick was making me sick. I was like "What In the Hell are you Doing Sleeping with The Governor? Can't you figure out that any guy with decapitated zombie heads in an aquarium isn't a man you wanna be copulating with?" It took enormous restraint on my part, to keep from throwing my Women Who Love Psychopaths book at the television.

Those bad boy characters can really mess up a good woman's life. Just ask me. I married one and was forced to walk away from the marriage before I turned. It was close call. Thank God my values held me steady when he claimed to be too sexy for his pants. Values and principles have always held me in good stead, even when falling short of perfect action. As in free fall short occasionally. You won't go wrong putting principles above personalities tho' it's never easy to do.

Our rag-tag crew of survivors we affectionately call family, hopes Sheriff Rick pulls himself together and counters the Governor's tyrannical reign. Somebody has to organize the community. Somebody has to take the blame when things go wrong.

This won't surprise people who've gotten to know me over the years, but I tested out as Sheriff Rick. Sheriff Rick is the moral yet flawed good guy going slightly crazy when his wife died (or her husbaNd ran away, ha!) That's when Sheriff Rick started talking on the phone to nobody. Check. Heard a ring nobody heard but himself.  Check. Saw things other people didn't see. Check. Wandered outside prison gates muttering to himself. Check. During the third season of the zombie apocalypse, Sheriff Rick was only intermittently sane. If he starts writing "I am a WoNderful Woman of Worth" on his arm, I'll search my house for spy cameras. (Now if only my X would wander through pastures while wearing a gossamer white gown, that would give me some closure.)

By the last episode of the third season, a traumatized Sheriff Rick had come full circle having passed through a Super Control Freak Stage betraying his communal values. When you find yourself crying during zombie apocalypse movies because a ragtag band of survivors overcame their fear and distrust of one another, you know you're gonna do just fine from there on out.  Anyway, I thought it would be fun to know which character some of you might be. If you're interested in sharing, I'd like to keep tabs on the Governors hanging out in cyberspace. So here's the test and it doesn't take long to complete the questions (you'll be asked to make situational choices. This is not a yes or no quiz).

p.s. The Walking Dead video game is a fantastic point-and-click adventure story. Accumulated choices change the story which makes it curious seeing how many people survive your decision-making. The game has won numerous game of the year awards and it deserves critic-and-fan's accolades, in my opinion. You can read more about The Walking Dead Video Game on Wikipedia and if you have an iPad, go to your Apps link. The first episode is free; subsequent episodes can be purchased separately or all together for fifteen bucks! You will LOVE Clementine. Actually, you will probably (unless you don't have a heart OR imagination) sympathize with each character in the game since writers have done an outstanding job with character development.

Hugs,
CZ




8 comments:

  1. Hi CZ,
    I've never seen The Walking Dead, so you'll have to tell me more about the character I got in the test: Lori. ;)

    Hugs,
    Kara

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for reading and posting, Kara. I wanted to have some fun and joke about zombies rather than focusing on people whose brains have fallen clean out of their darn heads. Yikes!

      Lori. Lori Grimes. What's to say? She was Rick's wife and she was a strong counterpoint to his decision making. She served as his conscience after his death, appearing whenever he was in the process of making decisions that didn't reflect his true character.

      She was an organizer who followed a traditional female role thinking about the children, giving birth to the children, keeping food on the table, washing clothes, etc. which were tasks that HAD to be done, just like stabbing Zombie's in the eyeballs had to be done. She could fight if she had to so its not like she was a drain on the community. She did her part but some folks didn't value her contributions (also reflective of society).

      I am sorry to say that she died during childbirth, Kara. May "you" rest in peace forevermore as the beloved wife of Rick Grimes. Sheriff Rick Grimes.

      Don't you need a laugh today? I surely do!

      Love,
      CZ

      Delete
    2. hahaha sorry to hear she died. Sounds like she was a great character ;) xxoo

      Delete
  2. Hi CZ, I have not kept up with the show--got tired of all the zombies, but it sounds like there was a fable thread there that was engrossing--except now I know that Sheriff Rick died and so did Lori! Honestly, though, at this time of the work year I identify more with the zombies...... :-) more later. love CS

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Sheriff is still alive, having survived the temptation to "Escape Reality" (some of us understand that temptation only too well!). But yea, zombies aren't for everyone. When you're sick with the drippy flu and sweaty fever though, its very easy to identify with those reanimated corpses biting family member's heads off.

      Zombies may be the archetype of our day, symbolizing the breakdown of society (inherently fragile). I think zombie films represent our increasingly narcissistic society mindlessly feeding on one another.

      And as we're witnessing today too, people's true characters are revealed when traditional institutions break down and they're forced to make decisions under extreme stress. One thing I love about "The Walking Dead" is realizing people construct morality in different ways. That's why I was so frustrated with Rick when he kinda lost his way this last season. You don't refuse to pick up a hitchhiker when the zombies are chasing him. Sheesh Rick---Get a Grip!

      It's also interesting how writers have constructed a story showing the "predator-or-prey" organization versus an "All for one and one for all" mentality. Guess we'll see which one preserves humanity---survival of the fittest OR survival of the most cooperative.

      Loves,
      CZ

      Delete
    2. PHew, glad to know he's still alive. It's perfect tv to "flu" by--Zombies ARE the archetype of the day. I've wondered about their resurrected popularity these last few years. I think the idea of people making decisions user stress is an odd counterpoint to the way the culture pushes so many choices on us, no? in a way, these days, most choices happen under stress. The sense that if you choose one thing, you're going to miss out on something else. Relationships are like that sometimes too ;-)

      Delete
  3. Yikes! Zombies! I don't know nuthin' about birthin' zombies.....

    But I do remember you saying that you woke up one morning and looked at your husband sleeping there, and he looked like Hitler to you.

    "Too sexy for his pants?". Hah. Hitler had one nut.

    LOL!....Happy New Year, CZ....and all others.

    Love, Lady Nyo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. haha!! I love it when someone remembers what I've written cuz you might as well know that I don't. Remember when that rat bazturd plagiarized my article (no, not my X). I was reading the article and it sounded familiar and then the writer referred to chickens and I remembered it was mine. ROFL

      Happy New Year to you, too! Let's hope this year is a good one (2013 was a clunker so I'm hoping we'll have better luck in 2014!)

      Love
      CZ

      Delete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...