The Children's Hours
What a time it was.
The Children's Hours
When Sally Starr died earlier this week, it got me thinking about a lot more than just one golden-haired cowgirl and her hold over several small generations. Sally was just one of the jewels, a particularly shiny one, in the crown of Philadelphia Kid’s shows. While “Our Gal” was sitting pretty in her corral, Pixanne was flitting through her enchanted studio forest, Captain Noah was guiding a rowdy and colorful ship down the Schuylkill, Gene London was hanging out at Quigley Mansion, Chief Halftown was raising his teepee (at an ungodly hour), Miss Susan was looking at us through her Magic Mirror that penetrated the glass of our old RCAs and even Dr. Shock made horror homey.
Growing up in the Delaware Valley during the 1960s and 70s, you didn’t know that the people who kept you company in the morning before school (and the lovelorn vampire that made you sigh in the afternoon on Channel 6) weren’t exactly ‘educational.’ Later on, Sesame Street taught our younger brothers and sisters how to count, the Electric Company got them spelling with a pre-Oscar Morgan Freeman, Reading Rainbow introduced them to the wonderful world of literature and ZOOM made Boston accents seem almost hip (almost.)
But we didn’t need any of that. We had Sally and the Stooges, Gene and his amazing magic markers, the Captain and his tolerance for our works of art (that poor man must still be getting pictures…sent today…and right away…) and Pixanne, the best example of how short hair can be sexy to a five year old.
More than that, we had a childhood. No one talked to us about hyperactivity and the drugs that control it. No one made us feel incompetent if we couldn’t play the violin (Hey, Uncle Al Alberts loved it when we managed a duet on the harmonica.) And no one asked-or cared-about our sexual orientation as we headed off to first grade.
Glad I made it out of childhood when I did.
Well, I'm disappointed that David Akers didn't get his Super Bowl ring, but so glad that awful Chris Culliver didn't get one, either.— scoobysnacks- Next wonder was the brilliant playing of Super Bowl MVP quarterback Joe Flacco, hometown hero from Audubon NJ.— Gendres
- Actually, it's the accusers on these pages who use a strategy of keeping the gay issue on page one by calling others "deranged gay hater(s)," while regularly bringing up the names of politicians who disagree with attempts to mainstream their extreme positions on sexuality and genocide.— Right To Be Heard
- RP - rejoice!!! The stock market finally went over 14,000. Now that is a "good old days" we should all celebrate.
And Obama has moderated his stand on contraception coverage.
Will wonders never cease???— Gendres - and sons, finally, your self awareness is awake. You are all we can take, we can't take no more. Where is that spinach????— Richar Poor
- I predicted Flowers' next column would be a gay-bashing one about the boy scouts considering allowing gays to be members. This was, I guess, a little foreplay.— Bartleby
- This comment has been deleted.— Richar Poor
- and now here you are, griping about the gripers.... — carl and sons
- lombard- you should know by now that gendres is an unabashed flowers apologist. a hypocrite, to boot, but her proud and vigorous support of state-sanctioned murder whilst decrying abortion can be left for another time (probably soon, since flowers can't seem to write two paragraphs without insulting gays and also anybody who supports bodily autonomy for women).— thoughtful_critic
- one -eyed J "Now I can't watch a game with my kids without the 4-hour erection commercials at every other break"
Thank God for the MUTE button. And Hallmark movies. I saw Betty White the other day in "The Lost Valentine" and cried my eyes out.
Remember the days when Lucy and Ricky slept in twin beds?
And of course for those who love them, there are plenty of channels dedicated to sports.
But not one of the so called "reality" shows is worth a peek.
I still miss "The Twilight Zone" and watch every time it is on a marathon.
— Gendres 
Those were the days. Now I can't watch a game with my kids without the 4-hour erection commercials at every other break. Then again, kids today do get to learn about guns. First hand. At school. By having them pointed at their heads and the trigger pulled. "Glad I made it out of childhood when I did." Yeah, me too.— one_eyed_jack- Amazing, isn't it? When there were 3 channels, there was quality. Now we have 1000 channels to pick from--one for every imaginable demographic--and 99 percent of it is complete garbage - so true.— Lombard Street
- Amazing, isn't it? When there were 3 channels, there was quality. Now we have 1000 channels to pick from--one for every imaginable demographic--and 99 percent of it is complete garbage.
- "So lighten up!" No. That was a classless, unnecessary slap she dealt. If it was reference to the BSA recent delegation to the local chapters, then she is fully endorsinging discrimination without accountablilty. Stop defending her ugly, hateful, counter-productive, very un-Christian bigotry, Gendres.— Lombard Street
- You expected otherwise? C'mon. She can't give someone the time of day or comment on the weather without going into abortion or homosexuality. It's a sickness and she needs help.
- carl and lombard - calm down....don't you get the reference to the recent decision by the BSA to admit gays. Now really, how does a first grade cub scout even know? That is how silly that whole controversy was/is.
So lighten up!
As for local TV, you all HAD tv's???
I'm so old, I remember listening to Superman and The Lone Ranger on radio. Imagine, it was all done with sound effects.
My teenaged hearthrob was an invisible voice coming from the radio by the name of Eddie Fisher.
My earliest and fondest recollections included Howdy Doody and Princess Summerfallwinterspring (See how educational THAT was).
And of course there was the Mickey Mouse Club and I LOVED "Action in the Afternoon". It was a real live cowboy show. That inspired my brother and me to create a whole western town out of shoe boxes and loose leaf paper dolls. He was a poor artist so he got to draw the "baddies". I could draw something that looked like a horse so that was my job.
Sesame Street got here in time to educate my own child.
Those really were innocent times.— Gendres - Back then, there was a large part of the TV day, besides news, that was locally originated, and was an incubator for a certain amount of low budget creativity. So there were all the people Ms. Flowers mentioned plus Action in the Afternoon, Bertie the Bunyip, Uncle Pete Boyle, and perhaps TVs greatest genius, Ernie Kovacs, all coming out of Philly at one time or another.
We did have Uncle Floyd from Jersey in the 70s and 80s, for which I am thankful. That was one funny show.
And yeah, I'm with Lombard Street: Is it possible for you to write a blog post on any subject without some backhanded slap at some group of people you dislike or feel superior to?— carl and sons - "no one asked-or cared-about our sexual orientation as we headed off to first grade." Seriously? What the hell is that line about?! This was a great post up to that line. And now a line has been crossed - you have fully established yourself as a deranged gay-hater in the mode of Rick Santorum, bizarrley obsessed at attempting to denigrate them. Always failing and only always showing yourself to be a frothy-mouthed ghoul. And not a Catholic in any sense. You really need help and should address this degenerate psychosis of yours. Oh, and better check it - you never left childhood, honey. Talk about arrested development!— Lombard Street
- just imagine how different your life would be if you had an iphone at age 3 and Skype at age 4.— Richar Poor
Email Christine M. at cflowers1961@yahoo.com Reach Christine M. at cflowers1961@yahoo.com.
