Winnie Cooper

I bet you thought I would write something about independence today. Or fireworks. Or apple pie. Or corn on the cob! Nah. I’m writing instead about a fictional character.

Last night I was looking around for something to watch on TV. On Hulu, I stumbled across The Wonder Years, a wonderful sitcom from the late 80s. If you don’t remember the show, it was a coming of age series about the Arnolds, set in the late 60s. Kevin Arnold was me, in some ways. He was three years younger but he had the same Beatles poster in his room that I had. He loved the space program. He was a curious kid who was confused about where he fit in the turbulent times of the 60s. Like many of us. His dad was a cranky Republican with a short temper. His mom was the long suffering homemaker. His older sister was a burgeoning hippie. His older brother was, well, an older brother whose purpose in life was to give Kevin a hard time. The soundtrack was awesome 60s music. The theme song was written by Lennon and McCartney!

But why is my title “Winnie Cooper”? All of us early teen boys had a Winnie Cooper in our lives. She was the one we wanted with all of our adolescent passion. Throughout our lives we may have different Winnie Coopers, but trying to find Winnie symbolizes something in all of us. Winnie lived next door to Kevin. They grew up together. When they became teens, they shared a first kiss. But Winnie was always just out of reach for Kevin. Throughout the series’ seasons, we all wanted them to eventually marry and have little Arnolds. But in the end, after graduation, they went their separate ways. Winnie went off to study in Europe. Years later when they see each other again, after a long separation, Kevin introduces his wife and first child to Winnie. Nooooo!

Some kids do marry their Winnie Coopers. Many of my high school classmates are still with their high school sweethearts. Good for them! Others realized early on that they would never settle down with Winnie, accepted that and have lived wonderful lives with someone else. Then there are the hopeless romantics like me…still looking for my Winnie Cooper!

But I will end this post with the quote that Kevin used to end the series, “Like I said, things never turn out the way you plan them.”