Saturday Morning Cartoons

As I was growing up there were many many different Saturday morning cartoon shows. Bugs Bunny and all his Looney Tunes pals were a perpetual presence as well as probably a dozen versions of Scooby Doo and the gang. These franchises are iconic; and continue to be on TV today.

Perhaps the most popular Saturday morning cartoon ever was not even a 30 minute show. It’s the ABC’s Schoolhouse Rock. It started out with Multiplication Rock and Grammar Rock then later expanded to include American history and other subjects. Nearly everyone who grew up in the 70’s knows at least one of the Schoolhouse Rock songs.

I could go on and on about Saturday morning TV shows. I’m sure with your help I could make a list of the most popular ones as well. But now it’s on to my personal obscure list.  These are the ones that I really liked but not many remember.

Deputy Dawg: This was one of my favorite cartoons when I was a preschooler. My dad and I would watch this together on Saturday mornings.

Deputy Dog was a deputy sheriff who tried his best to keep Muskie the Muskrat and Vince the gopher from stealing his produce. As I watch it now I realize that it really doesn’t hold up. But I liked it when I was 4. Here’s a link to an episode on You Tube. See what you think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F85BCzo1F_8

The Mighty Hercules: Watching this cartoon was my first exposure to Greek mythology, though I didn’t realize it at the time. Again, I remember watching this before I started school or while I was in kindergarten or maybe even as late as first grade. I was especially fascinated by one of the characters.

The premise of the cartoon has the Greek god, Hercules, come down from Mount Olympus to the fictional kingdom of Caledon. He’s there to rescue its citizens from whatever pressing threat or danger there might be. Usually that danger was caused by “Herc’s” arch enemy, Daedalus.

Whenever Hercules was in serious danger he would remove a ring from inside his belt, place it on his finger, and raise it in the air. Lightening would come down from the heavens empowering it’s wearer with his amazing strength.

I didn’t admire the mythological star of the show (although I wouldn’t have minded having one of those rings). I wanted to be one of the supporting characters, Newt the centaur. The half man/half horse was Hercules’ best friend on earth.

His high falsetto voice and habit of repeating himself (“Hurry Herc, Hurry Herc” or ”There’s trouble in Caladon. Trouble in Caledon”) made him unique. I remember hearing my mother complain to my dad about annoying and nerve racking she thought Newton was.  

This Hercules cartoon was my earliest memory of being pulled into a world of action and adventure while watching TV. All the other cartoons I watched were light hearted and silly. It opened the door for my future admiration of Johnny Quest, and Marvel super hero cartoons. Both of those cartoons are still remembered today but “The Mighty Hercules” is not mentioned often if at all.

You can watch full episodes of this forgotten childhood favorite on You Tube. Just search for it by name.

The Mighty Heroes: This cartoon ran for less than a year on CBS on Saturday mornings. I was 6 at the time of its initial run but would watch it in syndication in the afternoons probably up until I was 9 or 10. There were only 21 episodes made.

The best way to describe this cartoon is the Justice League meets the Three Stooges. The Mighty Heroes were a group of 4 men and a baby who are, as Wikipedia states, “clumsy accident-prone bunglers” with superpowers.

They protect the city of Good Haven from a variety of super villains. The fact that the city’s name was similar to my last name I’m sure was a draw for me.

Each of the heroes had secret identities until they were called to duty. They were summoned into action when a massive patriotic themed fireworks show was launched into the Good Haven sky. There was: Strong Man, Tornado Man, Rope Man, Cuckoo Man and Diaper Man. Strong Man and Diaper Man both had super strength, Tornado Man could turn himself into an actual small tornado, Rope Man was a man made of rope. Cuckoo Man’s powers were bird-based (he could fly but had to flap his arms) but he was not very “super”. Each of them also had their own catch phrase as they flew through the air.

These guys were their own worst enemies. They always messed up their initial attempts to capture the villain and ended up getting captured themselves. Eventually they would get out of the dangerous predicament, heroically capture the bad guy, and save the city.

The combination of humor and heroes in this cartoon really appealed to me. In addition to finding it very funny, I would also venture to say that I learned something very important from this cartoon. The Heroes showed me that if you try your best and mess up , keep trying and you’ll be able to make it right. Therefore, don’t quit.

You can read all about this cartoon, its history and creators on Wikipedia. Also there are several episodes available on You Tube. Here’s a link to one of them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4zVHSE5ngs

Peter Potamus and Friends: This is a show that included 3 of my favorite Hanna Barbera cartoons. Peter Potamus was a talking hippo who, ironically, traveled the world in a boat lifted by a hot air balloon. His friend and traveling companion was So So, a monkey. This is the cartoon that first showed me the life truth that everything is more fun if there’s a monkey.

When Peter and So So found themselves in a situation, dangerous or otherwise from which they needed to escape Peter would employ his secret weapon, the hippo hurricane holler. It was a loud yell backed with a strong tropical storm strength wind (all from his own lungs) that usually blew the problem away or got them out of the situation.  

The Peter Potomus program was the companion show to Magilla Gorilla and his friends (Ricochet Rabbit and Droop A Long & Mush Mouse and Punkin Puss)

The “and Friends” on The Peter Potamus show were also two more of my favorite cartoons.

Breezly & Sneezly: Breezly Bruin was a polar bear who lived in the Arctic near an army base called “Camp Frostbite”. He was a con artist who was always trying to sneak his way onto the base for a variety of reasons. His buddy was Sneezly naive little seal with perpetual cold. He had a habit of sneezing at the most inopportune times. This cartoon was my dad’s favorite of the 3 on this show. It was my least favorite.

Yippie, Yappie and Yahooey: This cartoon has a premise very similar to that of “The Mighty Heroes”. It is set in medieval times and features 3 bungling dog characters who are the royal guards to the king. They are essentially the 3 musketeer stooges. The “Curly” type character of the group, Yahooey, is voiced by Daws Butler, but sounds and acts like Jerry Lewis.

The appeal of this cartoon for me is also similar to that of “The Mighty Heroes”. The guards may be dimwitted but their heartfelt desire to do their job and serve the king is honest and pure. That’s what gives them their character and makes them likable. That plus they were very funny.

You Tube is the place to see these charming canines once again as well.

Wacky Races: Although I was a fan of all the cartoons I’ve mentioned so far I have to say I was crazy over this last one. The Wacky Racers were a group of 11 different types of vehicles, only 3 of which even closely resemble an actual race car, and their stereo typical drivers. I’m not going to list each of them individually but here’s a You Tube link to the show’s introduction that reviews the roster of Wacky Races drivers.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3cLSnzN-p0&feature=related  

Each episode of the show featured a race in a fictitious place set in a real area of the US. The main plot of each episode revolved around the villainous driver, Dick Dastardly’s (full name: Richard Milhous Dastardly) attempts to win the race by cheating any way he can.

Dastardly’s dog, Mutley (a reincarnation of the character Precious Pup from Hanna Barbera created Atom Ant show), best known for his wheezing and sarcastic laugh, is seemingly an accomplice in these devious plots. However, his “help” usually foils his owner’s efforts for victory. Whether it’s Mutley or other elements that are responsible Dastardly never wins a race. To which he always ends up exclaiming: “Drat and Double Drat”.

Dastardly was voiced by one of my childhood idols, Paul Winchell. His voice over career included many characters. But he’s probably best known for being the voice of Tigger in Disney’s Winnie the Pooh features and cartoons. But I idolized Winchell for a different reason. More on that in my next post.

While seeing Dick Dastardly defeated was the main reason I loved the Wacky Racers there were a couple of others. I loved the unique and wide variety of the cars and characters. I had a “crush” on the charming southern belle, Penelope Pitstop. You might say that was an ironic foreshadowing of what my romantic future held for me.  

Because of my admiration for Miss Pitstop, I wanted to be like her Wacky Racer suitor, Peter Perfect. I also liked “Perfect” because he drove the #9 car the same number as my birthday. I believe that was the beginning of 9 being my favorite number.

Penelope Pitstop was such a popular character she was spun off to her own show: The Perils of Penelope Pitstop. A cartoon with a format that mimicked the old movie serials of the 40’s & 50’s. The heroine was constantly being chased by an evil villain known as “The Hooded Claw”. He was voiced by comedic actor Paul Lynde. Like Mutley, he too had a signature sarcastic laugh. His efforts to capture Ms.Pitstop were always defeated;. mainly by Penelojpe's ingenious and sometimes athletic escapes.

Ironically Penelope’s protector in this show was not Peter Perfect. It was “The Anthill Mob”; a group of short gangster characters from the Wacky Races. Paul Winchell was the voice of the leader of this little group (pardon the pun). I didn’t watch this show very often. But if I was in front of the TV and it happened to be on I watched.

There is no doubt that Dick Dastardly was the break out star of the Wacky Races cartoon. He and Mutley also went on to have their own show.

They were moved from the sport of road racing to the military air service in “Dick Dastardly and Mutley in their flying machines” show. The show made them part of the “ Vulture Squadron”  a group of planes flown by four pilots whose mission was to stop the Yankee Doodle pigeon from getting messages through to the army. They attempted to do this with a series of planes designed with interesting gimmicks. Only in the world of cartoons would these planes have been able to fly.

The other two pilots were Zilly and Klunk. Both were unusual characters with unique and strange personalities. You can read about them by searching for Dick Dastardly on Wikipedia.

If anything is remembered about this cartoon show it would be its catchy and mind numbing theme song. It repeats the phrase “Stop The Pigeon” over and over again. Here’s a You Tube link to an episode with the show’s opening which includes the theme song and explains the series’ premise.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSnzOOtHfDo

As stated before I loved the Wacky Races and really enjoyed the Dick Dastardly spinoff. I watched both faithfully throughout their run. But whenever a discussion of classic Saturday cartoon shows comes up among other baby boomers and me they are rarely mentioned. 

That’s the reason I chose to mention them in this special Saturday morning cartoon post.

The cartoons I just mentioned are not, by far, a complete list of the forgotten ones I watched as I was growing up. If you remember them and want to see them again, head to You Tube. They are all there.

I didn’t mention the Secret Squirrel cartoon on my list but I have to give it an “ honorable mention” before I end this post.

Secret Squirrel had the honor of being my first ever character meet and greet. I liked this cartoon so much that when he made a “personal appearance” in the toy department in the basement of Laubach’s, a local department store in downtown Easton, my dad took me to see him.

I don’t know how old I was but it was way before I started school. The memory of that first character encounter is not crystal clear. In fact to me it’s more like a movie in my mind. But I do remember it. Thanks Dad.

So there you have my favorite cartoons that I watched on Saturday morning while sitting in front of the TV eating my favorite cereals when I was a kid. Did I bring back any memories for you? I hope so.

The next post will be the final one in the series and will feature a list of those real live TV show hosts who have all had an influence on my life. Come on back and see how my lists and stories about these people compares to yours. 

Commercial Characters

In my last post I mentioned some characters that could very well be included in this one as well, but they won’t. This time I’ve got a fresh crop of childhood TV memories.

One of the staples of advertising is having a character that’s strongly identified with the product. Some examples of this are: Planters’ Mr. Peanut, the Pillsbury Doughboy, and Ronald McDonald.

Growing up I was exposed to many hours of commercials loaded with unique characters. Here are some obscure advertising characters that I remember seeing growing up. Let’s start where my last post left off…cereal. 

The Crew of the Guppy and Jean LeFoot : In 1963 when Cap’n Horatio Magellan Crunch (his “official” full name) was introduced to children everywhere he was skipper of a sailing vessel named “The Guppy.” The crew of this “good ship” consisted of four children, 3 boys and a girl, named Alfie, Carlyle, Dave, and Brunhilde, respectively. The ship’s mascot was a canine character named Sea Dog.

 Although I did an extensive search online I haven’t been able to pin down just exactly when the crew disappeared from the cereal’s commercials. The last one I saw them in was one for a chocolate version of “Crunch” from 1984. Not many people remember the crew of The Guppy but I do. Even though their spots were only 60 seconds or less they were as entertaining as some of the Saturday morning TV cartoon shows during which they were shown.  

Jean LeFeet, the barefoot pirate, was the villain in those early Cap’n Crunch commercials. He was always after the Cap’n’s cereal or the secret of its crunch. He also tried to create his own cereal. He finally succeeded with Cinnamon Crunch and even appeared on its boxes. He has continued to be part of the Cap’n Crunch universe. Most recently as part of a special premium card set on specially marked Cap’n Crunch cereal boxes in 2010.

There are quite a few of Cap’n Crunch commercials featuring the Guppy Crew and Jean Lafoot available on You Tube. If you’re like me you’ll enjoy going back and spending time with these old friends. 

Funny Face Drink Mixes: Everyone knows the Kool-aid man, a frosty pitcher filled with Kool-Aid. His brand dominates the drink mix market. But in the late 60’s Pillsbury challenged General Foods and the quintessential non-carbonated soft drink.

Funny Face was a group of different flavored powdered drink mixes, each with their own specific character: The original group included: Goofy Grape, Freckle Face Strawberry, Rootin’ Tootin’ Raspberry, Loud Mouth Lime, Chinese Cherry, and Injun Orange.

Those last two characters met with major protests from what would now be called politically correctness groups. They were eventually changed to Choo Choo Cherry and

Jolly Olly Orange. Also two additional flavors and characters were added: Captain Black Cherry and Lefty Lemonade.

What was different about the Funny Face drink mixes was that they were pre-sweetened. With no sugar they were promoted as being “better for you” than sugar sweetened Kool Aid. Not having to add sugar also cut down on the mess of making it.

After the initial issue with the insensitivity of stereo-types was resolved, the characters were very popular. But the product itself had some major issues. The main one being that the sodium cyclamates used as a sugar substitute were banned by the FDA due to a link to cancer. Immediately the mixes were recalled and the cyclamates removed.

The new non-sweetened Funny Face mixes were no longer different from or as well known or established as Kool Aid. They were exponentially out sold and eventually were taken off the market.

As a kid all that stuff about political correctness or dangerous artificial sweeteners didn’t matter to me. I just liked the Funny Face characters a lot better than Kool Aid because they had personality and a back story. They had potential but alas they disappeared almost before any of that could be explored.

Their window in the market place was so small that not many people remember them. But for me they remain among my favorite commercial characters introduced to me through my television. 

Wallace The Waffle Wiffer: In 1968, a couple of years before the Kellogg company first demanded that we “Leggo their Eggo”; the Quaker Oats company introduced Aunt Jemima frozen waffles.

The convenient breakfast food’s first TV commercials were aimed at kids; airing during Saturday morning cartoon programming. The animated advertisements featured a pair of characters: Professor Goody and Wallace the Waffle Wiffer

.

Professor Goody is, what I would call, a collegiate level zoologist. He presents to viewers, Wallace; a hyperactive bird-like character. When he catches the aroma of an AJ waffle heating in the toaster, Wallace manically follows his nose exclaiming, in an excited warbling manner, “waffle waffle waffle.” You can see this for yourself in a couple of the commercials on You Tube.

The reason I liked this commercial character is that a part of me feels like he did about waffles. I love those delicious toasted aromatic rectangles with their subset of small squares that can be filled with melted butter and Aunt Jemima syrup.  

Yes, in answer to the commercial’s tag lines, there is and always has been a waffle wiffer at my house. Wallace is truly an animated personification of my perpetual appetite for waffles. 

Mr. Wiggle: This 1966 commercial character has by far the longest lasting effect on my life than any other. I’ll explain why in a few paragraphs; but first some product and icon history.

In 1966 General Foods, makers of Jello, made their first attempt to market a sugar free gelatin to kids. That product was Mr. Wiggle. The names of these flavors were: candy corn orange, rock candy raspberry, gumdrop grape, jellybean strawberry, lollipop lime, and candyball cherry.

I was unable to find any type of detailed history of the product  online but here’s what I remember. It was initially a success but, just like the Funny Face drink mixes, Mr. Wiggle gelatin fell victim to the cyclamates ban.

The commercial campaign featured the animated character Mr. Wiggle (voiced by Daws Butler) endeavoring to bring his gelatin to kids while keeping it away from his arch enemy, Sweet Tooth Sam (voiced by Paul Frees).

With the flexibility possessed only by an anamorphic glob of red gelatin and a “finishing move” that I would describe as a “sonic wiggle” he was successful in defeating his foe and delivering his dessert.

In the picture above you can see Mr. Wiggle in all his flavored incarnations. You can also go to You Tube and watch the original black and white commercials.

Of course, after seeing the commercials, I requested that mom bring home and make me some Mr. Wiggle “Jello”; which she did. My momma loved me.

Now let’s move on to the reason why the influence of Mr. Wiggle is with me even today. When I was 8 or 9 while in the hospital I was given a flexible plastic Mr. Wiggle puppet. I believe it was the very first puppet I ever owned. I used that puppet to perform puppet shows in church.

Mr.Wiggle helped my love for puppets grow throughout my childhood. Over 40 years and many many more puppets later I still have my original Mr. Wiggle puppet. Here’s a picture of me and my childhood pal. 

As you can see, my hand no longer fits allowing me to manipulate Mr. Wiggle. Therefore he's permanently "retired" and is protected in a plastic display case. But just like the Ernie and Kermit the frog puppets, Mr. Wiggle holds a special place in my history as a puppeteer. 

That’s my list of TV commercial characters that may not be commonly remembered but will always remain treasured memories in my mind and friends in my heart. I apologize for the length of this post. But as you have read these characters hold many memories for me.

The next “TV Memories Week” post will feature some of my favorite cartoons that are not remembered by many others my age. I hope you are enjoying this series of posts. I know I’m having a great time writing them. See you next time. 

TV Cereals

It’s a common belief that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Eating food with the nutrients needed to get your day off to a great start is vital. As any parent who has ever taken child down the cereal aisle knows there’s plenty of breakfast cereals that fall well short of those first meal of the day’s nutritional requirements.

But it’s those are the cereals that your child will beg for you to buy? Why? Because the company that makes those “sugar” cereals that spend the most money on commercials on the shows your kids watch. That’s the way it’s always been.

When I was a kid the “silly rabbit” was chasing after his Trix. Lucky the Leprechaun was hiding his Lucky Charms, and Toucan Sam was following his nose to find Kellogs’ Fruit Loops. Those are some of the most popular kid’s cereals still around today. But what about the cereals that I begged for that aren’t around anymore? I think they deserve being mentioned just as much as those still on the store shelves.

Here are 5 of my favorites gone but not forgotten cereals: 

Freakies: This first obscure cereal isn’t one that I ever actually ate for breakfast. It was made by the Ralston company. Until they introduced Freakies they had only made adult oriented cereals such as Chex. 

Freakies cereal was available between 1974 and 1977. I was a teenager then and not interested in any new “kid’s cereal. I did however like the commercials. 

Seems like I’m the only one I know who remembers the song and the characters who lived in the Freakies tree. They were:  Hamhose, Gargle, Cowmumble, Grumble, Goody-Goody, Snorkeldorf and the leader BossMoss.

Apparently there are others who remember The Freakies. Here’s a You Tube link to their commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP8mbxZBl3k 

I'm starting off this list with this cereal because of the obscurity and uniqueness of the Freakies characters themselves. I don't think their creators ever had a chance to tell their stories or take them on new adventures. 

Clackers: This graham cracker flavored cereal was one of my favorites.

 As the years have gone by I often confused “Clackers” with the one I’ll mention next. I remember eating this cereal and it was good. The gear shaped flakes were relatively large. 

You could only eat one at a time with a regular sized spoon.

But the commercial hook for this cereal was its intrusive interjection into unexpected situations. It also proved to be its demise. 

Adults refused to buy the cereal for their kids  because they found the commercials extremely annoying. Here’s a link to one of the commercials from You Tube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5_S6Ys92D0

The trivia fan in me can’t give you this commercial without mention that the Italian chef is played by Alan Arbus. He’s best known for playing psychiatrist Dr. Sidney Freedman on M*A*S*H.

The main thing I remember about Clackers is getting a plastic toy duck call free inside one of the boxes. I blew that thing as often as I could. Apparently my parents found the toy as annoying as the Clackers commercials. I remember after a day or two the toy “mysteriously” disappeared.  

Stax: Also known as “Wheat Stax” this cereal was one of the most “fun” to eat.

 Like I wrote before, in my memory I combined Stax with Clackers. Stax was actually a flat wheat flake cereal. Think of it as a Wheaties flake crossed with a piece of Post Honeycombs but about half as thick.

The great thing about this cereal is you could play with it on the table before you put it in a bowl. The flatness of the flakes made it very stack-able (thus the name). They were edible building blocks.

Ironically, the marketing campaign for this cereal was aimed at adults. The TV commercials featured celebrities making stacks of the cereal. I wasn’t able to find any of the TV ads on You Tube but I did find this print ad featuring comedic actor, Marty Engles.

But the commercials and ads really missed the target. Why would adults want to stack cereal? Also how could parents, after continuously scolding their children against it, play with their food?

I do remember the joy of my parents bringing home a box of Stax for me at least once. I remember making columns of flakes on the kitchen table. Even though the recollections about this cereal are few they are among my favorite childhood breakfast memories. 

   Quisp & Quake: These two have to be mentioned together because for most of their history they were advertised together. It started with their first TV commercial. 

The marketing strategy was ingenious. I believe it was the first time cereals were linked together. Six years later General Mills utilized the same marketing scheme with Frankenberry, Count Chocula, and Boo Berry; their “monster cereals”.

Here’s the You Tube link to that first Quisp & Quake commercial that set up the “popularity” contest from right from the start:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-sTnm_aPBY

Once again, here’s a bit of trivia about Quisp & Quake commercials. They were created by Jay Ward the creator of Rocky & Bullwinkle, Dudley DoRight, and Quaker Oats most popular cereal icon, Cap’n  Crunch.  (There will be more on the Cap’n later this week)

Quisp was from outer space voiced by Daws Butler (Huckleberry Hound) and Quake was from the center of the earth, voiced by William Conrad (who played the title role on the CBS detective series, Cannon).

I was 5 years old when that first commercial aired on Saturday morning TV. I bought into the “choose which one you like best” thing from the start. I begged my mom & dad to buy me my choice, Quake. I can’t remember exactly why I chose the miner over the alien. 

The cereal looked and tasted very much like Cap’n Crunch and was introduced 2 years it. Although I don’t remember ever having a box of Quisp in my house I did have some while staying over with one of my friends. Quake was my choice in the taste test as well.

If I recall correctly, my fascination with Quake cereal didn’t last more than 1 or 2 boxes. Eventually, the kids of America agreed. In 1972 after a national “vote” Quake disappeared from store shelves. You can read about the history of the two cereals with a Google search.

The biggest surprise to me was finding out that Quisp continues to be sold from time to time in Target and various national discount grocery stores.

Baiting The Hook

I can’t conclude this cereal article without mentioning the most influential reason any kid wanted any specific cereal during my childhood. That would be what’s known in the food industry as “the premium”. To kids it was known as “the toy”.  

While the prime ground for scoring a “quality” toy for kids these days is a fast food restaurant kids meal; while I was growing up the hunting was done by digging to the bottom of the box of any sugary cereal.

Other than the Clackers toy I’ve already mentioned, I can't specifically remember playing with any other specific toy. But I know they included: 3D baseball cards, floating toys, race cars, and records you cut out of the back of the box then played on your own turntable. I tried to find a picture of a representative group of premium toys from the 60s & 70s but there were so many I couldn't decide on a definitive representative.

I think getting a record right off the back of a cereal box was my favorite. However I also loved anything you could wind up and let loose to speed across the floor or fly across the room coming dangerously close to your mom's knick knacks. Like the duck call, I don’t remember holding on to many of the “out of the box” cereal toys for more than a few days. 

Whether they got broken, were lost (on a roof, in a tree or down a sewer) or just “disappeared” I’m not sure. But I do know that premiums continue to be used as a marketing tool in cereals today. Although a lot of them are mail-in offers.

So there you have a list of my 5 favorite obscure breakfast cereals that initially came into my house by way of the TV commercial. What, if any, memories do you have of these sugary morning treats?

The next post in this week of “TV memories” will be about some of my favorite and nearly forgotten commercial icons. Come back to see which ones make the list. 

TV Memories Week

I am a nostalgic man; born near the end of the World War II “the baby boom”, 1960. I find myself looking back at “the good old days” and while trying to swim through the swift current of today’s ever changing technology.

It is the pop cultural and technologies of both of eras that I will use during this week’s series of posts I've titled, “TV Memories Week.”

While the entertainment centerpiece life today is the computer for those who grew up in the 60’s & 70’s it was the television.  

As a matter of fact the TV’s were literally part of the furniture. There were a lot of different models sold over the years. The range of size and shapes varied. There were even consoles (short for consolidation) that combined the 3 main components vital to “modern” home entertainment: TV, radio, and record player. In the early 70’s 8-track tape decks were added and later Cassette players. (The picture below was obviously taken to display this unit for selling purposes. I don' t know anyone who kept their TV console units in their backyard)

I must admit I am a product of the “TV generation”; probably more so than anyone else I know.  I spent hundreds of hours in front of our family Zenith. The people, places and things I saw on “the tube” had a really big influence on my personality and creativity of today. The only one I know who comes close displaying the degree of TV influence I do is my cousin, Lee.

I could literally write a book about the classic shows and the memories they hold for me. But everyone knows about them and you can find shelves of those kinds of books in bookstores everywhere.

So I’ve decided to make this week of TV posts personal. I’m going to write about some of my more obscure childhood memories. I will be posting about cereal commercials, advertising icons, cartoons and show hosts.

It’s going to be a week of fun posts. Hopefully when it’s over I’ll have brought back some fond memories for you as well. So let’s get up off the couch, turn the TV on (yes, there was a day when there was no such thing as a remote) and get ready for the show.

Tune in tomorrow. Same bat time, same bat channel.

Driving Miss Aria

This is my 3 month old granddaughter, Aria Nicole. She is sitting in her “Bumbo” chair watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on her daddy’s cell phone. Don’t worry, James is close by. He’s just taking care of some household chores. But knowing Aria is watching something Disney makes her Papa (that’s me) very happy. It’s never too early to introduce her to Disney’s “Fab Five.” This is especially true since Nickelodeon is the channel that’s usually on TV when she’s rocking in her baby seat. Sponge Bob already has the upper hand.

But developing Aria’s Disney fascination isn’t the subject of this post. It’s to express how blessed because I’ve had the opportunity to see my granddaughter on a regular basis these past 3 weeks. Over that time period I helped my son and daughter in law out by occasionally picking Aria up from daycare in the afternoon.

On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons much to my delight I’d fasten this happy little girl into her safety seat in the backseat of my Vue, turn on some children’s songs from my Ipod and off we’d head on down the road.

On a few days, after I had delivered her to her daddy at her house, I took advantage of the chance to spend some “quality time” with her. I bounced her on my knee, found out she sees me better when I wear a red t-shirt, and even got her to “talk” to me a bit. All of this was much to my delight.

This past Thursday was the last day they needed me to pick her up. As had become the routine when I arrived at the house, Penny, who takes care of her, put her in her car seat while I gather her diaper bag.

With diaper bag in hand, I went back to the baby carrier as Aria was just about strapped in. At that very second she caught sight of me and seemed to recognize me. She gave me a great big smile. She didn’t just smile. She smiled AT ME!!! (I wasn’t even wearing a red shirt)

Penny told her, “You just melted Papa’s heart” “You could have anything you wanted right now.” Both things were completely true. There couldn’t have been anything better thing to have happen on the last day I was going to be picking her up.

I don’t know if I’ll be there on Aria’s wedding day; but if I am I can promise you one thing. Out of the hundreds of memories that will run through my mind when I see her walk down that aisle today’s smile of recognition for her Papa will be among the first.

I consider it an honor, a privilege to have had the blessing of driving Miss Aria.