Day 29 - TV Shows You Watched as a Child

Day 29

There were several shows that I watched as a child, which is quite astounding since we only had three channels, and insult of all insults, we actually had to get up to change them.  The enjoyment I had in most of the shows probably had less to do with the writing and acting, but rather with the people with whom I watched. To this day, I do not really enjoy watching a funny show without Mr. L here. The best part is watching him laugh.

I Love Lucy was definitely a favorite. Specifically, I remember watching it at my grandparents' house. My grandmother would laugh and laugh. Often, I would be rocking in the old rocker in which my grandmother rocked her babies, my mom rocked hers and I rocked mine. I have that rocker now. It has a very distinctive creak.  It is a sweet sound, connected in my memory to I Love Lucy. My favorite episode was when Lucy baked the loaf of bread. When it came out of the oven, it knocked her across the kitchen. I am a sucker for physical comedy. Of course the " vitameatavegimen" episode was a classic, as well as the one where Lucy and Ethel worked on the candy assembly line. Oh, what great memories.

I connect The Andy Williams Show to being in my dad's presence. Everytime I hear the song "Moon River" I think about my daddy. He also loved Perry Como and Lawrence Welk. I was not as big a fan of The Lawrence Welk Show as the other two. I might possibly, in my childhood innocence, have had a crush on Mr. Como, and probably thought Mr. Williams was related to me. I did enjoy Topo Gigio and was quite fascinated by the polka on Lawrence Welk. The polka was a dance at which I did not excel in my social dance PE course at MTSU. Come to think of it, I am not sure one could say that I excelled at any of the social dances. As an aside, the Cha Cha was my favorite. I also remember watching Flip Wilson (the devil made me do it) with daddy, but the hardest I ever heard him laugh at something on TV was the skit on The Carol Burnette Show where Tim Conway played the dentist. Again, physical comedy that was truly hilarious.

Cartoons on Saturday mornings were a tradition growing up, and I find great comfort in a good tradition. I can transport myself to the livingroom in the Moran Drive house and hear my brother, Mike, laughing at Huckleberry Hounddog.  He loved that cartoon.  He also liked The Road Runner and Wile E. Cyote, but I a truly believe that old Huckleberry was his favorite. Mike had a great laugh.

Sky King, Lassie, Roy Rogers, Andy Griffith, Leave it to Beaver, Father Knows Best, Romper Room,  Captain Kangaroo, and The Lone Ranger were favorites as well.

We went to church 3 times a week....Sunday morning, Sunday and Wednesday nights. Illness, major current events of historic significance (JFK assassination, Cuban Missle Crisis), and the annual presentation of The Wizard of Oz were really the only things that kept us home. I LOVED the Wizard of Oz. It always aired on a Sunday night. I have not the words to express the emotions I feel when I think of The Wizard of Oz. Certainly a show about tornadoes, wicked witches and flying monkies should not invoke feelings of warmth, comfort, and safety, but that is exactly how it makes me feel. I am in a big wingback chair, head on one arm, knees on the other, feet dangling. I am all cozied up under a warm afghan, a snack in my lap. Oh, the sweet joy of special events in a happy childhood.

Day 29 - TV Shows I Watched as a Child - check