Code for the Day: The Goonie Code - Z60.4

As I mentioned in my last blog posting, I recently returned from Oregon.  The trip was conceived while catching a repeat of a favorite movie from the 80s - The Goonies.

The Goonies house with its signs & the jail with getaway Jeep

If you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend it.  In short, it's about a group of misfit kids living in Astoria, Oregon, who are in danger of losing their homes to the rich set, who plan to tear down their houses in exchange for a golf course.  The kids find a treasure map in the attic that leads them on an adventure complete with the bumbling Fratelli gang of crooks, pirates, scary caves, and - of course - hidden treasure obscured by Oregon's natural landscape and pirate booby ("that's what I said, booby") traps.  And if they can find the treasure, they can save their homes, which they lovingly refer to as the Goondocks.  The movie was written by Chris Columbus, produced by Steven Spielberg, and directed by Superman's Richard Donner and starred Sean Astin, Corey Feldman, Josh Brolin, and a cast of familiar faces.  Do you need a better reason to see this film?!

So while watching the movie and all its extras one night, we decided it was a must see.  Besides, there are other things to check out in Astoria- other movies, like Kindergarten Cop and Short Circuit were also filmed there.  Oh, and then there is Astoria's natural beauty as well!  So we set off to what I now like to call Goonie Town and began our adventure.  Immediately upon checking into the hotel, we noticed the Goonies house sitting atop a hill overlooking the town.  Cool!  First stop: the old jail where the opening jail break scene was filmed.  Parked out front - complete with bullet holes in the tailgate - was the Fratelli's getaway Jeep!  The jail now houses the Oregon Film Museum with a special nod to the cell where Jake Fratelli was imprisoned.  Very cool!  Then we headed across the street to the Flavel House, which is the museum where characters Mikey and Brand's father worked.  It turns out it's also an amazing Victorian mansion that you can tour.  Historically cool!  We then parked and walked up the hill to the Goonies house where a sign at the base of the driveway welcomed us (Goonies) and where, at the top of the hill, a small group of fans took turns snapping pictures of the house that meant so much teenagers in 80s.  You could almost see Chunk out there doing the Truffle Shuffle! We even made it down the coast to Ecola State Park and Cannon Beach where the majestic Haystack Rock formation is found.  Naturally cool!


Anyway, it was a great time and we proudly proclaimed ourselves Goonies.  What's interesting is that the Goonies were misfits - they didn't fit in anywhere else, so they created their own little club.  But I always related to the Goonies - perhaps because I was a misfit myself.  At any rate, they had an amazing adventure and I couldn't help feeling an enormous amount of nostalgia just being in Astoria.

And so today, still with part of my brain stuck on the west coast, I decided to look for a Goonie code.  Here it is (with instructional notes):

• Z60.4, Social exclusion and rejection

Exclusion and rejection on the basis of personal characteristics, such as unusual physical appearance, illness or behavior.

This is an interesting code.  I think a lot of people could argue that this code fits them, which perhaps means we all fit in just by the fact that none of us fit in.  I never considered the Goonies to be misfits, but I suppose Mikey's fragile asthmatic state, Brand's inability to get a driver's license, Chunk's weight, Data's outrageous gadgets, and Mouth's sharp tongue do make them stand out.  But I always liked their motto: Goonies never say die!