Sitting at today’s open house I took a trip down memory lane. I stumbled across Gunsmoke and Bonanza for a break from the mundane on the tv at the open house. I grew up with Gunsmoke and Bonanza,The Lone Ranger and Mighty Mouse. I was impressed and amazed by these old favorites. I remembered the lessons. The good guys won. The bad guys lost. No one swore and people spoke with respect. It was not R Rated or preceded by a warning.
Today, at my age, I still say Sir and Ma’am. I try to respect the opinions of others and I expect the same. I felt that stirring of hope as I did as a young man looking forward, not necessarily the same feeling today’s news brings. How did I ever make it this far?
Probably because I learned from Matt Dillon and Ben Cartwright. I watched Bonanza with the Grove’s who had the first color tv in the neighborhood. We talked across a living room table and the phone didn’t interrupt Sunday night and I didn’t spend quality time texting. Dick Grove retired to his basement after the show to write thank you notes to the customers he had met the week before as a traveling salesman.
Please and thank you were ingrained in my spirit.
It is hard to keep those days alive today. It can only be done in your own corner of the universe. Share your memories of your growing up. Before Vietnam, before Desert Storm.
The majority of us turned out well because of what we watched when television was entertainment and it’s education undefined. Watch a few episodes of Andy Griffith.
Thank you.