In Focus

Remember the kid's television show back in the day called Barney and Friends? I know hate is a strong word, so let’s just say I despise Barney.

Even as a kid, Barney annoyed me. And that “I love you, you love me” song was even worse. It was an annoying song that just stays with you, kind of like “Baby Shark”. I shudder at the thought.

As a kid, I would watch Power Rangers, Ninja Turtles, and Transformers, and anything that had dinosaurs in it (except Barney). The kid-friendly educational stuff...good luck getting me to watch that. It bored me to no end. I wanted action!

Fast forward a few years. I think I was about nine when mom and I moved in with her boyfriend and his four kids, all older than me. It was a rough start, no lie. I suddenly had four siblings after being an only child. After some time passed, we finally started to get along...to an extent.

While I don’t fully remember how it started, I know I was fighting with the youngest of the four siblings. He was still a few years older than I was, and he grabbed a giant pile of orange extension cords and a chair. It didn’t matter how much I struggled, he tied me tightly to the chair with the cords. I was facing the television. That wasn’t the worst part...

He put a tape in the VCR, hit play, and left the apartment. Everyone else was gone to work or for sports. I was left alone, with two straight hours of Barney playing on the TV. When it was finally over, or so I thought, the VCR automatically rewound the tape and started over. I was devastated!

Finally, the older three siblings came home from baseball/softball practice. It took them a little while to free me from the cords and once I stood up, I fell over. My legs had gone numb.

I told them what happened and they thought it was hilarious. Figures! That changed when mom and her boyfriend came home and I told them what happened. Mom was beyond livid and went on the hunt for the culprit looking for him throughout the neighborhood.

They finally found him. I was upstairs when I heard my mom and her boyfriend scolding him and probably spanking him.

He wasn’t allowed to be alone with me after that.

So, I loathe Barney. Call it Barney PTSD. Seeing that purple dinosaur just angers me to no end.