Big Daddy Gouda

When I left the Register six months ago, after nearly two years on the job, I did so with an “F-U” and “Good Riddance” attitude. They may have figured they’d be better off without me and I certainly felt that way toward them.  Like most break-ups, it’s always the hardest, most drastic feelings that you experience first.

In the weeks that followed my departure those angry feelings subsided and when thoughts of my old job surfaced it was mostly because I missed one of my co-workers. It’s hard not to grow close to people we see for 40 hours each week. Especially over the span of nearly 24 months.

I found a new job fairly quickly, working for the Post Office in Waterbury. And while the money was great, it wasn’t long before I started to hate the work. Mostly because I couldn’t escape the thought that I was not put on this earth to sling mail. But I endured. Even as whispers of layoffs and post office closings became an everyday water-cooler topic.

I rarely thought of my former career as a journalist. Except of course when big news stories would break across the state. I’d often think to myself, “Hmm, that would be cool to cover.” (The murder of the Yale Grad Student comes to mind).

Career-wise, over the last month, I really started to settle into the life of the mundane. Work, whatever  I was doing, was not a part of me. It was simply something I did to collect a paycheck. I didn’t give anything to it and I took nothing in return.

Then, as it usually does, LIFE got in the way.

My phone rang last Tuesday at Midnight. It was the head Editor at The Middletown Press, who happens to be one of my old bosses from The Register.

There was a murder trial going on in Middletown and she needed someone to cover it for the day. I was offered the opportunity to fill in as a freelancer.

Admittedly, I was flattered she thought of me. But I also knew that the trial started in 10 hours so I’m sure desperation played a part as well.

Of course I agreed to do the job for the day and actually had a great time covering THE TRIAL.  Covering the courts was always my favorite part of the Register and I’d forgotten how much I truly missed it.

That night Dad told me, “Hey, ya never know, it could lead to something else.”

And what do you know.  Dad was right. Two days after my freelance gig I was offered the court reporter position full time.

So, I’m back in the journalism biz. And hey, the money ain’t great but I enjoy it and right now that is all that matters.

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If you care, here’s what I’ve been up to lately.

Some of you may have noticed I’ve been reading a lot lately.  So, I thought I’d share with you 8 great books out there today.

1. TAI MY SHOE: Creative Ways To Re-Aggrivate A Neck Injury. By Tai Paris.

2. SECRETLY SINGLE: How To Keep Your Life In Boston Private. By David Carroll.

3.  EMPTY CUP OF JOE:  The Search For Joseph Nozzolillo. By Tom Clancy.

4.  “I See The Way You Look At Mom” Too Smart For Your Own Good. By Aidan Nathaniel Weik.

5.  “I Think We’re Gonna Just Stay In”:How To Consistently Ruin Walt’s Weekends. By Jamie Nivolo & Jay Marcoux.

6.  “Who Ate My Peanut Butter & Why Won’t The Cat Come Near Me”: The Ambien Diaries by Ashlie Dranginis.

7.  THE GRUSTAS FACTOR:  101 Reasons Why The NY YANKEES Haven’t won a World Series in Almost 10 Years. By Bob Costas.

8. BIOLOGICAL CLOCK: The Story Of My 10th Grade Crush. By WALT GOGOLYA. (forward by Rebecca)

Saved By The Bell was one of the cheesiest shows in the history of Television, but I don’t think I’m going out on a limb here when I say it was also one of the most beloved.

Don’t roll your eyes! You all watched it. All the boys had crushes on Kelly Kapowski and the girls argued over who was hotter Zack or Slater.  We all thought Lisa was  cute but maybe a bit asexual and Jessie’s feminism was too “in your face” but she had legs that went all the way up to Ya Ya.

As for Samuel Screeh Powers, well, lets just say he may have been  the most annoying TV character ever, right up there with Urkel. But, I must admit, I do remember laughing at some of his lame jokes. And I know you did too.

Saved By The Bell was never “appointment viewing” or “Must See TV” but over the course of my lifetime, like many of you, I think I’ve seen EVERY episode.

I know most of the words to “Friends Forever”.  I thought it was really strange when Jessie was addicted to caffeine pills and freaked out.  I recall waaaay too many dance numbers that made you squirm in your seat yet smile at the same time. Remember Lisa’s sprained Ankle Dance or Slater’s ballet number in the black unitard? Yeah, of course you do!

So, while I’m not embarrassed to call myself a fan of the show, I suppose I’m a little embarrassed to admit I just finished reading the book “Behind The Bell” by Dustin Diamond aka Screech Powers. (it was a fast read, took 2hours)

It was marketed as a “tell all” – A behind the scenes look at what really went on when the cameras weren’t rolling.

Among some of the more interesting allegations Screech makes in the book:

• Everyone was sleeping together.  Kelly and Jessie both slept with Zack and Slater. Lisa slept with just Zack. But poor Screech, he slept with none of them.
• Screech alleges he got laid all the time (just not by cast members) and lost his virginity on the set to a girl he met at Disney Land.
• Screech alleges he had an affair with a network executive who was 10 years older than him and was basically one of the people in charge of the show. (However this “executive” swore him to secrecy and died of cancer in 2003….how convienient.)
• In the dreadful Saved By The Bell Spinoff: The College Years, Tiffani Amber Thiessen was only given a roll on the show after she slept with show creator Peter Engel. The show was just supposed to be Zack, Screech and Slater until she “slept her way on.”
• Mark Paul Gosselar (Zack), according to Screech, was a steroid abuser.
• Mario Lopez (Slater) was accused of raping a girl in his trailer but the NBC Lawyers settled with her out of court for $50K.
• All the cast members (except Screech) were pot heads who smoked up during rehearsals and drank themselves silly on the weekends.
• Years after the show ended Lark Vorhies (Lisa) seemed distant toward men and flinched whenever she heard loud noises. While he never came out and said it, Screech appears to allege that she was possibly a battered woman.

So yeah, who knows what to believe and what not to. I for one am inclined to believe most of this. Afterall, when the show was filmed in the late 80s/early 90s the cast was all teenagers. Of course they partied and shared sexual partners. Didn’t we all?

What bugged me most is Dustin Diamond came off as a narc. The tattle-tale in school that nobody liked. But I am a little biased since I’ve always hated the character.

As some of you may know, late night talker Jimmy Fallon is trying to organize on on-air Saved By The Bell reunion. Pretty much everyone has signed on except for Screech who says he’s “too busy.”

I’m more inclined to think he said ‘NO’ because he was obviously disliked by his fellow cast members and, after this book came out, he knew that they’d want to whip his ass.

These days Screech calls himself a stand-up comedian, performing “44 weeks out of the year”.

And YES, I would pay to see him perform, if only to go to the show, throw pennies at him, maybe give him a wedgie and possibly, if I could find one, stuff him in a locker.

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If you’d like to see what Zack Morris thinks of a Saved By The Bell Reunion, CLICK HERE.