David Letterman in a rare acting role on Mork & Mindy
Mork & Mindy was on television between 1978-1982.
It was never a favorite of mine–too silly–but this clip has includes David Letterman and Tom Poston.
September 21, 2008
Boomer Girl’s first books September 16, 2008
When I was a child, circa 1950s, we did not have cable television, cell phones, or computers.
When I really wanted to live it up and have a good time, I read books.
I cannot remember how old I was when I got my first library card, but I remember holding my father’s hand as we walked up the stairs of the Rundel Public Library in Rochester, New York.
My favorite book, for many years, was “Make Way for Ducklings” by Robert McCloskey.
Here’s the synopsis from Barnes & Noble:
The busy Boston streets are too dangerous for eight little ducklings! But with a little help from a friendly policeman Mrs. Mallard and her family arrive safely at their new home. The public garden was no place for ducklings when they were first born, but now they are old enough to brave the raucous crowds and swim with the giant swan boats. Available for the first time in a full-size paperback edition, this Caldecott winning classic continues to delight generations of children
And here’s more:
The quaint story of the mallard family’s search for the perfect place to hatch ducklings. Once the ducklings learn to walk in a straight line, they stroll past famous Boston landmarks into the Public Garden. For more than fifty years kids have been entertained by this warm and wonderful story. It has been reissued in paper and packaged with an audiotape for the current generation. 1942 Caldecott Medal.
Sigh.
Those were the days.
September 14, 2008
Voices of Bullwinkle and Rocky
See, it’s bigger than Howdy Doody.
It’s also Rocky and Bullwinkle.
It’s bigger than Howdy Doody September 13, 2008
I was born in 1949, so I did grow up on Howdy Doody, Captain Kangaroo, and I Love Lucy.
Those are the memories I cherish.
But of course there’s more, folks.
When I was very young, we had two sources of news: newspapers and the 6 o’clock news.
There was no cable television, no cell phones, and no Blackberries.
And no internet, of course.
At my house we got morning and afternoon newspapers, and we watched Walter Cronkite in the evening.
Things started changing the day that President Kennedy was assassinated.
For four days, television networks televised the ongoing story of Kennedy’s murder, including his funeral.
As the years went by, we watched the horror of the Kent State shootings, Viet Nam, Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, then Robert Kennedy’s murder.
My parents were blue collar workers, and they owned a home, had a new car every few years, and furnished us with 3 square meals a day.
A visit to the doctor cost a few bucks.
On Sunday, after a nice dinner, we (me, my brother, and our parents) got in the car and took a ride out to “the country” where we enjoyed the scenery. During the summer, we stopped at fruit stands, then got an ice cream cone before going home to bath and bed.
The pipeline of news and information was slower and not always in living color.
It was a different time, and I think that as humans we were able to live, work, and love with a marvelous sense of detachment from the horrors that life can inflict.
Things like wars and reports of missing children always happened to “other people,” or so we told ourselves.
Being a Baby Boomer is about more than being born after World War II and watching Howdy Doody.
It’s about growing up in a world that has changed with a speed that is at times exciting (when considering technology), and at times absolutely frightening (e.g., watching an airplane fly, on purpose, into buildings occupied by thousands of people).
This Baby Boomer is a disaster junkie September 1, 2008
I’m a disaster jinkie, and I’ve been glued to the television, and my laptop, as Gustav tears through Louisiana.
Here’s a neat blog: Feisty Side of Fifty/Baby boomer Women.
And here’s a blogger, FortRight, who defines a Baby boomer as “anyone born after the war who watched the original Howdy Doody show. Period. End of discussion.”
What a hoot!
I’m going to get back to my drug right now.
Between Gustav and Sarah Palin’s pregnant teenager daughter, there’s a lot to keep up with.
Sorry, Howdy Doody, you are so yesterday 
