How lucky can one person be? Pinch me! This is the second weekend in a row that the #SoCS prompt has been right up my alley! Thanks Linda!
This week’s prompt is television. But what to choose? My mind is a traffic jam of excitement right now. Not that I couldn’t live without tv. When I am alone I rarely have it on, preferring music to the lull of voices that draws me from doing anything purposeful to sitting in front of the set as though I have guests that need attention.
My mother was ill most of the time in my teen years so coming home from school included chores, making sure she had what she needed and making tea for her. We spent a lot of time in quiet conversation, with me sitting on the floor by her bed. She would encourage me as no one else has ever been able to, and the feeling of her hand on my head remains the most comforting thing I know. I miss it so much.
The highlight of my afternoons was whatever was on tv and I watched until I was forced to go to sleep. Back then there was so much to choose from and always something new, especially when they added the new magical ABC network! It had all the fun stuff on it. The Movie of the Week, ABC After School Specials and so many tv shows in Prime Time. My high school years found me enjoying everything from the Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family to Chico and the Man and Welcome Back Kotter. Hellooooo Vinny Barbarino! Then there were Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley and Mork and Mindy. I stood in line in a Little Rock mall to get an autographed photo of Henry Winkler once.
What? Where? Why? Oh John…..
Then there was nighttime. So many to mention, but recently I watched a marathon run of Here Come the Brides. Bobby Sherman was cute but I always loved the older guys too. Jason Bolt was a hunk of a lumberjack. When Night Gallery came along I was glued to the set. We had always watched reruns of The Twilight Zone which was awesome. Just ask my friend Dan. He never misses the yearly Zone marathon sessions. He is a true fan. Most people don’t remember Kolchak, the Night Stalker series with Darren McGavin. It was a one season wonder which I loved. Now that I look back I think it must have paved the way for me to be obsessed with The X-Files and Grimm. I miss them all. 😞
Now, with the advent of Smart tv and Roku, I am back in tv bliss so I don’t mind so much spending time in front of the set in the evenings. I can revisit old friends and check out the newest films and made for video shows, like The Marvelous Mrs Maisel. You have to check her out. It is the funniest show I have watched in ages. And it speaks to social progress over the years for ethnic groups and women in show business. I would hate to see us slide so far back into darkness and ignorance…
Okay, enough I know! Who would think I have time for photography, jewelry, art, excursions and cooking? Suffice it to say I don’t “veg out” very well.
Happy #Free48 everyone. I hope this storm does not cause harm to any of you. Stay warm and stay in touch. 😘
PS OMG! I forgot to mention The Carol Burnett show. Flipper. The Monkees and Gilligan’s Island. Wonderful World of Disney. We can’t even go into the reruns that I didn’t even know were reruns and not of my age which I loved as a child…and still do! Lucy, Andy, Laurel and Hardy, Saturday with the Little Rascals and the Three Stooges. If I left you out, I’m so sorry! Eddie Cantor! Okay, I hear the cue music for me to stop talking now…..
Dreaming Reality 
14 responses to “Pinch Me! #SoCS and Jus Jo Jan”
I believe I’ve watched every show you mentioned, from the Monkees to Night Stalker. Yes, I remember Night Stalker! I was a TV addict as a tween, teenager and young adult. I loved all of the old sitcoms and series TV and it’s so very awesome that there’s Netflix, Hulu, Chromecast and Roku. Love it!
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Me too!!
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loved Kolchak. That Mrs. Mazel looks really good.
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It really is.
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Oh my, that was a wonderful jaunt through TV history? I loved Kolchak, Star Trek, Rawhide, Lost in . . . .I t was a good time to watch TV.
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It sure was, Pam. And so many others!
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You and every woman in the galaxy had a secret crush on William Shatner. At least you’re not one of the ones for whom Bones exclaimed “she’s dead, Jim.” I recently switched from Netflix to Hulu, which gives me access to Night Gallery. I didn’t see it when it was on, because I was either working after school or in college – life before VCRs – I know. My roommate and I watched Star Trek reruns with dinner almost every night. I truly miss variety shows. Mu mother watched every one that was on. My favorite was the Red Skelton show. Thanks for the ping. I hope you’re having a great #free48
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Hey, I still remember our first color tv. We still had a console stereo, record player but with a ‘new’ 8 track player in it. 🙊Yeah poor Kirk couldn’t have a romance. I’d be yelling at the woman, “Don’t do it, you’re as good as dead, lady.” We loved Red Skelton. Gertrude and Heathcliff were my Dad’s favorite. 😊
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Yes, I remember the first color TV, and I remember when we got cable. In western PA and in West Virginia, if you didn’t have cable, you didn’t get a very good picture – so many hills.
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Ha! How well I inow. When we went to the Ozarks on Summer vacation, one of us kids had to stand beside my Grandpa’s black and white television and hold onto the foil covered rabbit ears so I could watch The Edge of Night soap opera and Dark Sadows. Being thirteen was rough. Let’s not even talk about the outhouse and chamber pot. 🤣
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Ha ha – I do remember vacations with those last two items, and no tv for two weeks.
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It was only on resting days we got to try watching. We did touristy things, like Dogpatch USA and Silver Dollar City, as well as the Dams. We also got shooed outside a lot. I spent a lot of time walking dirt roads, playing King of the Hill on top of the storm cellar and picking blackberries with my Grandpa for cobbler. He was a good cook. We had no idea how truly blessed we were as we scrambled for lightening bugs in the yard while the adults had coffee and talked in the dark on the porch. Sighhhh…
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Star Trek! and Lost in Space! Oh, boy, do I remember Kolchak. LOVED IT! That opening bit under the credits, when the electricity goes off–closeup of Kolchak’s widening eye–!!! Still creepy! Thanks for the recap of Mrs. Maisel. I keep hearing about it, but didn’t know what it was. It looks wonderful!
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Oh it really is. Not for the prudish, of course; but if you’d like a good dose of reality without the sensationalism that so often overshadows most productions, this one is for you. Family, marriage, racism, feminism, sexism, devotion, lust, humore, humor and more humor is there. And the sets and costumes are fantastic. Oh I bought the boxed set of Lost in Space. I had a secret crush on Willaim Shatner. 😉
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