DEREK’S DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical professional, neither am I giving any medical or legal advice. If you are seeking help from a doctor or an attorney, please consult said professionals. These are my personal thoughts and feelings on the subjects discussed, and my blog is my own personal experiences and journey with mental imbalance. Thanking you in advance!
Welcome back, everyone!!! Tonight’s post is going to be a fun one. I wanted to talk about something that DEFINITELY helps me with my mental imbalance and brings me such joy, and that is reading the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mysteries! Yes. You read that correctly. Let me explain.
But first. Picture it. Wadesboro, North Carolina, 1977.
A very cute and fabulous little black boy is sitting in Mrs. Matthews 5th grade class, end of the day. (Thankfully!) Yes. Me. And I am reading “The Shattered Helmet,” one of the Hardy Boys Mysteries. This particular book in the series would prove to be important surrounding the birth of my brother, because one of the characters in the book was named Dimitri, which is my brother’s middle name. However, his is spelled Dmitri, which is quite clever. When he was born in early winter of 1978, my father revealed that that’s what he and my mother wanted to name him. Well, imagine my surprise!! I was ABSOLUTELY thrilled to hear that!!! Quite the little connection.
I was always reading these stories. I was OBSESSED with them. On Saturdays when my grandfather would take my grandmother to go grocery shopping, he would drop me off at the library just so I could browse the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mysteries. I, obviously, checked out several LOL
But my obsession didn’t end there. After the birth of my brother, whenever my aunt and I would visit my parents and brother in Washington, D.C., we would always accompany them to Toys “R” Us to buy diapers for my brother. And color me surprised when I discovered they had an ENTIRE section devoted to Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew!!! Well, needless to say, I began purchasing them. In order. And over time, I had nearly amassed the entire collection through #56 or 57 in both. Fortunately, my grandfather had built TWO sheds in our backyard, and one of them housed all of my books. (Sadly, many years later when I was well into adulthood, he threw them all away. 🤬)
Anyway, imagine my joy when they turned the stories into a television series in the late 70s, starring Pamela Sue Martin as Nancy Drew, and Parker Stevenson as Frank Hardy, and Shaun Cassidy as Joe Hardy!!! And yes, I watched every single episode!! They weren’t exactly based on the novels themselves, but they were fun to watch back then. (But child, me and one of my former roommates sat down to watch an episode as adults, and we discovered that they were BAD!! LOLOL) But as kids, you think some things are just the greatest.
Well NOW picture it. Atlanta, GA, pandemic 2020/2021. A VERY sexy and handsome YOUNG gay man of 54 decides to start reading them again. Yes. Also me LOLOL I just one day decided to pick up where I left off in the series. And this year, I have been steadily reading them ever since!!
Below is a pic of some of the books that I have purchased in 2021.
And yes, the books are VERY dated. The situations are a bit contrived. And the endings are very convenient in how SUDDENLY they catch the bad guys. Sometimes they end up working on two mysteries at the same time that end up being connected somehow. Of course. And sadly, different cultures are oftentimes portrayed very stereotypically. And let’s not forget that Frank and Nancy are 18 years old, and Joe is 17. TEENAGERS! Yet, they are all well-known DETECTIVES, and even trusted with military secrets!!!! LOLOLOL I mean, come on!! That would NEVER happen in real life. For starters, who’s going to hire a couple of teens as detectives??? But it is all in good fun, and it brings me back to a happy part of my childhood. Or rather, a time when these books got me through all the bullying I endured at that time.
And they have been a source of comfort during these troubling times we have found ourselves in. So, yes, they have helped me mentally, as well. I start each morning off reading one of them. I am currently on #66 of the Hardy Boys, and I am about to finish it and start #66 of Nancy Drew!
Oh. And I cannot close without giving honorable mention to The Three Investigators, which was another obsession of mine as a child!
So, by all means, please share with me your childhood joy or something you have returned to or rediscovered during the pandemic that has helped you to get through it. Doesn’t have to be from childhood. And doesn’t have to be from the pandemic. But perhaps it is a passion you had long since forgotten or responsibilities took over and you had to drop it. Leave a comment below.
And until the next time, stay mentally well!!
