Meet "Fly"

I'd like to present to you an opportunity to meet my cartoon alter-ego.  His name is "Fly."

Why mention him?  Well - when I woke up this morning, my mind was bursting with childhood and adolescent memories.  My dreams were bittersweet, a collage of the many different places I've lived.  I've moved a total of twenty-two times in my 31 years thus far.  Sometimes it was just down the street, and twice it was nearly 3,000 miles.  Along my travels, my creative alter-ego has always tagged along.  Here he is: 

I've always enjoyed putting my mind to creative use, whether it be in the form of poetry, photography, drawing, and even electronic music.  In fifth-grade during an after-school program, I was doodling with some crayons in the cafegymnatorium (an Urbandictionary term for a combination of a cafeteria, gymnasium, and auditorium).  I think I would have been about ten years old.  At that time, I loved drawing goofy cartoon characters.  Bursting onto the paper, the world witnessed the birth of an unusual new bird: Fly.  Okay, so that's a little dramatic. 

I wish I kept the original drawing of Fly.  What I can tell you is that he matured over a few years, subtly changing, as I did the same in my youth.  The above drawing, which I just did today, is pretty much what Fly has looked like since I attended high school.  I don't know what kind of bird he is.  Maybe an experimental cross-breed between a peacock and a chicken?  He has always worn something resembling a target on his belly.  His hair and feathers are typically flamboyant and blue, though he has occasionally been dyed a different color, depending on my mood.  The expression in his eyes is generally of an acute alertness, frequently bordering on the panicked "deer in headlights" look.  He is precariously balanced on two little stick-legs.  He has wings, but despite his name, I'm not really sure he has the ability to fly.  Perhaps a few feet in the air for a short distance?

Fly was featured in comic strips that I created when I was in middle school.  He hung out with a turtle sort of friend, though I don't know if his friend ever had a name.  I've sometimes drawn Fly on chalkboards in classes before teachers arrived.  He is, in essence, my companion of imagination. 

I guess if I were a bird, I'd want to be like Fly.  Because I know I'm one strange bird, which is just how I like it. ;)

Right now, I kind of feel like a kid again.