story teller extraordinaire

I loved Jesus Music.  I was exspecially drawn to the singer/songwriters of that era who could tell as story.  Most folks know Noel Paul Stookey as a member of the folk group Peter, Paul, and Mary.  Paul started coming out with Christian albums in the late seventies.  Real to Real was released in 1977, the year I graduated high school.  Real to Reel is a live album that Paul strings together songs with stories.  It was a very influential album for me, because I wanted to do what he could do.

we loved this man

Long before some members among  my generation decided that people over thirty were uncool and didn't understand them, we had this sweet old fellow.  His name was Art Linkletter and everyone of all ages loved him.  I remember watching his television show called Kids Say The Darndest Things.  Art Linkletter could take your average everyday run of mill backyard puddle stomping kid and ask him/her a question (I happen to know that little girls like to stomp in puddles too).  He'd just ask the questions and let the kid answer and philosophize with their small imaginative minds.

Art Linkletter had a kind and honest face, the kind of face and presence that any kid couldn't help but trust.  I guess you could say that Art was right up there with Red Skelton, Walt Disney and Santa Claus.  I was just a wee tike when I was first introduced to that man who appeared on our old Zenith in black and white.  At that time I was too little to understand what was so funny about what the children were saying.  I did  appreciated the fact that that nice grownup seemed to take so much interest in what us kids had to say.

Bill Cosby came along years later and tried to revive the show.  Bill is a friendly fellow, but no one will ever be able to replace the place in our hearts for Art.

I wonder how many people today remember him today?  He was a big star in his time whose name was known in every household.  He was a big star that seemed so down to Earth.  Not many television or movie stars today would I care to have come into our home for a visit.  Art Linkletter was an exception.  He was a super star that most families wouldn't have minded joining them at the supper table.

build me up...

I remember being outside on the porch with our portable turntable playing a stack of scratchy 45s back to back.  The Finlayson kids could DJ our own hit tunes and dance to the music like the crazy mountain natives on the patio that we were.  Neighborhood kids could drop by and enjoy the Finlayson kid's version of American Bandstand.  What a neighborhood, what a day!

What were your favorite 45s?

tic toc

I was creating a post for my long journey blog when I found a graphic from The Time Tunnel TV show.  It was a short lived show that I really loved and hated to see vanish.  The show was about two time traveling scientist who threw themselves into their work.   They had been working on a time machine that was in danger of being defunded.  These two men ventured into time, traveling back to disastrous historic event to disastrous event.   The first episode they found themselves aboard The Titanic before it hit the iceberg.  Another episode took them to Pearl Harbor before the Japanese arrived.  They always arrived prior to disaster and would try to warn the people of that time of the upcoming disaster.  I don't recall they were ever successful.  Maybe it was a good thing that the plug was pulled on the project.

It was a great show for an eight year old boy's eyes to behold.  I haven't seen The Time Tunnel since I was a kid and wonder if this grown up kid would still think it's great.  I like time travel stories.  I know that somewhere in time, that we've all wondered what it would be like to have to  have the opportunity to go back back.

Though I don't think tampering with events of history a wise thing, it's fun to ponder.  I think if God had wanted us to go back in time, He would've made us with forward and reverse knobs.  Hey, wait a minute...what's this?

UHF

My favorite station growing up was Ted Turner's WTCG that broadcasted out of Atlanta.  WTCG ran old movies from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.  They also played second hand sitcoms, dramas, and  along with old theatrical cartoons. Turner would pick up old shows at a discount and rerun them on his station.  Frankly, 17 was the best channel ever.  Later WTCG was dubbed the Super Station when the FCC allowed Turner beam his programming via satellite.  WTCG later became WTBS.  They showed a lot of old movie classics and I love old movies.

I loved coming home from school to watch re-runs of The Wild,Wild West, Man From Uncle, Star Trek, I Love Lucy, Leave It To Beaver, Abbot and Costello Show.  I even liked watching odd-ball shows like Ultra Man and the anime classic Speed Racer. 

WTCG also introduced me to my favorite late night news anchor Bill Tush.  Tush had a quirky sense of humor and had a hilarious news show that aired at 3 in the morning.

WTCG  also produced a late night horror show called FRIDAY NIGHT FRIGHTS (1972-73) that  was hosted by a fellow by the stage name of Dead Ernest.  It has been rumored that Ted played Dead, but Turner denies it.  Until someone divulges the real name of Dead Ernest, I will believe that Ted Turner is lying through his crooked fanged teeth.