When I did a word search in my files in preparation for my last post where I mentioned Sputnik, one of the words I used in the search was “satellite.” One of the files that turned up is what I’m posting today. It’s something I read and saved years ago and frankly had completely forgotten about. When I reread it, I thought to myself that it would be a nice piece to post on the blog sometime in the future. Well, the following morning I heard on the radio that the program Leave It to Beaver was celebrating its fiftieth anniversary. They had a little sound clip from “the Beav’” and from his older brother “Wally.” Wally’s voice sounded the same, only more mature!

My mind went back to some of the really good, family-friendly shows from my childhood, shows that had valued right and didn’t glorify wrong. Not only were the images black and white, but most of the issues were also. Looking back on those programs now as an adult, I realize too that those old shows were laced with “little white lies” and situation ethics. But there were generally always uncomfortable or even unpleasant consequences for the wrong doing and good triumphed in the end. I must admit that I am not a big TV watcher and haven’t been for years now. I simply hate to be assailed with profanity, innuendo, violence, immorality, calling wrong right and right wrong, and on and on I could go with the litany of what TV has become.

Today I’m posting the words to a song about the “good, ol’ days” of black and white TV.

(If you’re under the age of 50, you probably won’t fully understand or appreciate this poem about a period of time when, even though it took five minutes for the TV warm up, there would be something actually worth watching…)

Black and White
by Steve Vaus

You could hardly see for all the snow,
Spread the rabbit ears as far as they go,
Pull a chair up to the TV set,
“Good night David, Good night Chet!”
Depending on the channel you tuned
You got Rob and Laura, or Ward and June.
It felt so good, it felt so right.
Life looked better in black and white.

I Love Lucy, the Real McCoys,
Dennis the Menace, the Cleaver boys,
Rawhide, Gunsmoke, Wagon Train,
Superman and Lois Lane,
Father Knows Best,
Rin Tin Tin and Lassie too,
Donna Reed on Thursday night.
Life looked better in black and white.

I wanna go back to black and white.
Everything always turned out right.
Simple people, simple lives,
Good guys always won the fights.
Now nothing’s the way it seems
In living color or on the screen.
I wanna go back to black and white.

In God they trusted, in bed they slept.
A promise made was a promise kept.
They never cussed or broke a vow.
They’d never make the network now.
But if I could I’d rather be
In a TV town in ‘63
It felt so good, it felt so right.
Life looked better in black and white.

I’d trade all the channels on the satellite
If I could just turn back the clock tonight
To when everybody knew wrong from right.
Life was better in black and white.

***
Here are pictures of a dozen shows to evoke good memories for some…

The Little Rascals (a.k.a. Our Gang)

Sky King (and his niece Penny)

Howdy Doody (and Buffalo Bob)

Rin Tin Tin

The Lone Ranger (and his faithful companion Tonto)

I Love Lucy (our favorite episode - in the candy factory)

Captain Kangaroo

Leave It to Beaver (the Cleaver family)

Lassie

Father Knows Best

The Andy Griffith Show

The Beverly Hillbillies

quotation…

“Make every decision based on doctrine. Doctrine is not peripheral - it is foundational.” - Dr. Drew Conley

=^..^= =^..^=
Rob

Have you ever noticed that nostalgia isn’t what is used to be?