Nicodemus and Stymie

My first run in with the name of Nicodemus came through the Our Gang series. Seriously, a lot of credit for opening up the classics, as well as the Bible, came from the stuff on television. Of course you had to be open enough; and curious enough; to want to find out who they were talking about. In the case of Nicodemus, this curiosity began with Stymie; the black kid with the bowler hat; who was I believe looking for; or talking about; a cat. I could be wrong about the scenario, but it was Stymie.

Anyway, through the years I have run into the name Nicodemus on road signs, road maps, state maps; even ships are named for him. Often enough, most people have no idea who he was. Some even attribute myth like origin to his name. Even some regular church going people would be hard pressed to tell you just who he was, or why he is important. I attribute that to a lack of effort on the part of the average clergyman. But, luckily, you have Rooftop Reviews to enlighten you about this, and on a Sunday, no less!

Nicodemus was the guy pictured, or rather depicted, in the Pieta; the statue by Michelangelo shown above. That statue was displayed at the New York World’s Fair in 1964 and 1965. It was one of the Pope’s goodwill efforts in advance of his visit to the city the following year. Say what you want about the church, that move made quite an impression upon this Jewish kid from Brooklyn; not the least of which was based upon the fact that this hunk of marble was a Michelangelo all the way from Europe!

And, as if that were not impressive enough, the Pieta depicted my beloved Nicodemus, the same one who was introduced to me by Stymie in the “Our Gang” series, as I mentioned earlier. So here I was, the only one at the World’s Fair looking at this thing in connection with Stymie. But, I was awed. And the story of Nicodemus, and how he became involved in the story of Jesus Christ, is fascinating whether or not you believe in Jesus. I make that statement as a candle lighting, Sabbath observing Jew.

Nicodemus, who was later made a Saint, was a Pharisee who lived at the time of Jesus' death. As written in the Gospel of John, Nicodemus showed favor to Jesus, and appears with him three time. He visits Jesus one night to discuss his teachings, as written in John 3:1–21. The next time you read about him is in the portion covering the Feast of Unleavened Bread, John 7:45–51, where he discusses the law concerning Jesus arrest and imprisonment with the other disciples. And, the last time he appears in the Bible is at the Crucifixion, when he helps a man named Joseph (not Jesus' father) to prepare the corpse for burial, as told in John 19:39–42.

Nicodemus is not mentioned elsewhere in history, but he is one of the first Jews to be “born again” and his experience is considered to be the source of that expression. The Jewish Encyclopedia has traced the origins of this man to Nicodemus ben Gurion, who is mentioned in the Talmud as a wealthy and popular religious figure who possessed miraculous powers. In the Christian faith, Nicodemus is thought to have been killed in the 1^st Century and is considered to be a martyr.

And that, my friends, is the story of Nicodemus and how I became acquainted with his name. And they say nothing good was on TV when I was a kid!

"Spooky Hooky" with the Little Rascals (1936)

When Spanky has Porky put an absence note on the teacher’s desk at the end of the school day, so that they can go to the circus the next day, they have no idea that their teacher has made plans to take the class there as a surprise.

With the school locked for the night, the boys must brave the dark to retrieve the phony note.  With a dark and fierce storm raging; at least it seemed that way to me when I watched it as a kid; the boys enter the building, waking the janitor, and scaring him half to death before doing the same to themselves. The scene with the skeleton really caught my attention at age 6.

Naturally, the boys are outwitted by their common enemy; adults; and when they catch cold due to their exploits they cannot attend the circus the next day due to the very real colds they once strove so hard to pretend they had. As for the stereotyping in these films; I've said it before, and I’ll repeat it now; the common enemy of the gang were the adults.

The characters were all stereotyped to one degree or another. There was the arch typical bully, the good girl, the fat kid, the black kid, the little kid, the maiden teacher; hell, even the dog was stereotyped. So, forget the political correctness for about 6 minutes and enjoy the film for what it was meant to be. And whatever you do, don’t listen to Spanky. He’s always getting the gang into trouble!

"Fly My Kite" with Hal Roach and His Rascals (1931)

This is probably the first “Little Rascals”/”Our Gang” episode which I remember watching. It’s interesting to note that the name on the credits is “Hal Roach and His Rascals.” They went through two more changes in name as the years passed, finally becoming known mainly as “The Little Rascals.”

In this 1931 episode, “Grandma”, who is really just an old lady in the neighborhood, is having her usual day of fun with the neighborhood kids. She reads to them, feeds them and even boxes with them. The children are all from poor families and presumably the parents are all out working during the day, leaving the children at “loose ends.” She is the anchor which holds their little world in place.

Grandma’s son-in-law, a mean fellow named Dan, has promised to let Grandma stay in her home until she passes away. He had previously broken Grandma’s daughter’s heart with his philandering ways, which she blames for causing her daughter’s early death. With no money of her own to live on, she is forced to accept the promise that Dan will always take care of her.

But when Dan and his new girlfriend arrive at the home unexpectedly, they find Grandma roughhousing with the neighborhood kids. The girlfriend tells Dan that unless Mom moves out, she won’t move in. Grandma, hearing the arrival of the cab with Dan and his girlfriend in it, tells the kids to hide.

When Dan tells Grandma that he is kicking her out and sending her to the poorhouse, all seems lost. As Dan leaves the home he checks the mail, finding a letter informing Grandma that she is in possession of some gold bonds which will make her secure for the rest of her life. Dan takes the letter to an attorney who informs him that the bonds are transferrable and worth about $100,000; more than Grandma can ever hope to use in the few years remaining to her. He quickly returns to her home in an attempt to retrieve the bonds. Meantime, Grandma, while packing her belongings, has given the worthless bonds to “Chubby” for a tail on his kite.

Dan rushes home from the lawyer, and once there, he crushes Grandma’s glasses and reads the letter to her, informing her that the bonds she once held are worthless. But he’s in for quite a surprise when she informs him that the bonds have “gone up”. When he realizes that she has given the bonds to “Chubby”, he rushes outdoors to retrieve the kite, and the bonds. Meantime, Grandma, while packing her belongings, has seen the letter through the “lens” created by the fishbowl where the letter has been laying and dispatches the children to help “Chubby” retain the now valuable kite.

These films were the basis for many of life’s lessons in morality, honesty and hard work. In spite of the stereotyping of everyone in these films; the helpless old Grandma; the fat kid “Chubby”; the racist portrayal of Stymie and Buckwheat; and even the villainous son-in-law, complete with an evil looking moustache; were a staple each morning before I went to school. And, sometimes I think I learned more about life from these old films than I ever did in in class.