Teddy Radiator (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
teddy_radiator) wrote2015-12-12 10:22 am
teddy_radiator) wrote2015-12-12 10:22 am
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December Delights - 11 & 12 December 2015
It was a bit late last night when I returned from watching TheHubs™ in A Christmas Carol. It was a delight in and of itself - he was in several scenes as a pall-bearer, a caroler, a rich man, a poor man, Mr. Fezziwig, and most disconcerting of all, a corpse. It was a very sophisticated set, and the cast did a marvelous job. Some of the acting was a little meh, but hey, it's community theatre. Today he is auditioning for a very funny play called The Foreigner, which I really hope he gets.
This morning a friend posted this video, and I was instantly seven years old again. Monty's Rascals was a children's show produced at our local NBC affiliate from 1960 to 1982, and many an hour was spent watching it. I was actually part of a group of kids who were on it once, and I distinctly remember it because I won a lion-roaring contest and received a cake for a prize. I was overwhelmed, until my mom tactfully confessed that it was a rigged affair - my birthday was that same week, and that's how they gave gifts to kids without causing resentment in the other kids.
Its heyday was the early 70's, when it was a daily after school show we all watched, full of skits and visits from the Animal Shelter and reruns of The Little Rascals and cartoons. By the time I was in high school it was a pale shadow of its former self, relegated to 10am Saturday mornings and consisting mostly of cut-rate cartoons and the occasional visit from the travelling circus.
The gentleman in the video doing most of the talking, Stowe Hoyle, who played the wonderful Mr. Doohickey, still lives locally. When his wife was placed in Hospice care, my cousin, who's a nurse there, garnered me an autographed photo of Mr. H himself. It's a treasure of mine.
We are always encouraged to look to the future, to plan ahead, to prepare for the inevitable. I think the reason Christmas is so special to me is that it feels like the one time of year when we're not only allowed to look back, but actually encouraged to do so. Because we use the same decorations year after year, they become a time capsule for our memories. Even when I was a little girl, Christmas was both an exciting time and somewhat sad for me.
I think it was fitting that this video was posted at this time - it really gave me a warm, nostalgic glow.
This morning a friend posted this video, and I was instantly seven years old again. Monty's Rascals was a children's show produced at our local NBC affiliate from 1960 to 1982, and many an hour was spent watching it. I was actually part of a group of kids who were on it once, and I distinctly remember it because I won a lion-roaring contest and received a cake for a prize. I was overwhelmed, until my mom tactfully confessed that it was a rigged affair - my birthday was that same week, and that's how they gave gifts to kids without causing resentment in the other kids.
Its heyday was the early 70's, when it was a daily after school show we all watched, full of skits and visits from the Animal Shelter and reruns of The Little Rascals and cartoons. By the time I was in high school it was a pale shadow of its former self, relegated to 10am Saturday mornings and consisting mostly of cut-rate cartoons and the occasional visit from the travelling circus.
The gentleman in the video doing most of the talking, Stowe Hoyle, who played the wonderful Mr. Doohickey, still lives locally. When his wife was placed in Hospice care, my cousin, who's a nurse there, garnered me an autographed photo of Mr. H himself. It's a treasure of mine.
We are always encouraged to look to the future, to plan ahead, to prepare for the inevitable. I think the reason Christmas is so special to me is that it feels like the one time of year when we're not only allowed to look back, but actually encouraged to do so. Because we use the same decorations year after year, they become a time capsule for our memories. Even when I was a little girl, Christmas was both an exciting time and somewhat sad for me.
I think it was fitting that this video was posted at this time - it really gave me a warm, nostalgic glow.