M-I-C-K-E-Y

A wondeful part of my early childhood is gone - RIP, Annette. I remember as a very small child watching the Mouseketeers every afternoon. Annette, of course, was my favorite. I loved the "babies",  Karen and Cubby - I even had their paper dolls. Some I didn't like as well - mainly some of the girls.......probably because they would occasionally take the spotlight off Annette.

I've always loved TV - in fact, my parents attribute my learning the alphabet at a very young age to Robert Q. Lewis - I was able to recognize the "Q" on my blocks and distinguished it from the "O".  It was a sad day when our TV died before I was old enough to start school, because at that point we didn't have the funds to replace it.

In fact, I believe I was mid-way through 5th grade before that TV was replaced. That dearth of entertainment did, of course, give me lots of quality time with my parents. Last time I checked, I  could still kill in a game of Tiddly-Winks! But that 5th grade year was oh! so hard.......there was a new TV show on that fall that absolutely everyone talked about on the school bus - "The Beverly Hillbillies".  I felt SO left out and socially abused.

I was so excited when that TV came into my life. Indeed, "The Beverly Hillbillies" was a terrific show, and now I could partcipate in the bus discussions.  Torrey Southwick and Ol' Gus were a staple, soon replaced by "Where The Action Is" as my adolescent after-school staple. We only had 3 stations then - and only for about 10 months out of the year. When it got into the summer doldrums, the heat was too much for the TV and it simply would only have a picture for a few short minutes before it would get blurry and fade.

After Charlie O. Finley moved the A's to Oakland (the bum!) and the Kansas City Royals came into being (1968), I had to be very inventive. During the heat of summer - and the heat of the baseball season - I always made sure I had an extra battery for my little transistor radio. Either outside on the front porch or in the kitchen, I would listen to the game until it was time for my favorite player to bat, then I would huriedly turn on the TV to see what he would do. It was a finely-timed dance.

I remember the times of hauling the TV 20 miles to the repairman when a tube would burn out. We only made that "long" trip to town once a week, so we always hoped the tube could be replaced while we did our weekly grocery shopping. Sometimes, I felt like that TV was my best friend.

I've digressed enough - thank you, Annette, for so many wonderful memories of childhood and a simpler, more wholesome time - "M-I-C see ya real soon K-E-Y why? because we like you! M-O-U-S-E"!