Joe Muto

The Alvin and the Chipmunks theme song is stuck in my head today for some reason.

You know how in those old cartoons they gave every episode a title?  Apparently when I was a little kid — before I could read — I was obsessed with knowing the title of every Chipmunks episode I watched.  I’d get really anxious if I didn’t learn the title before watching the episode.  So if my mother was in the room, no problem — I’d have her read it to me.  But if she wasn’t in the room, I’d scream at her from across the house. She’d come running in to read me the title. 

Years later she admitted that some days she’d been too late and missed the title.  But rather than freak me out, she’d just make up a random, generic title on the spot.  “Uhhh… this episode is called ‘Alvin’s Big Day.’”  I never suspected a thing. 

On a side note — I learned to read at a relatively young age.  I now suspect that this was not because of my love for books, but my love of knowing the titles of Alvin and the Chipmunks episodes.