Where's Mr. Magoo?

   When I was a kid, my parents decided to get rid of our TV. They thought we spent entirely too much time sitting in front of it. Ahead of their time, weren't they? So, for some of my gradeschool years, we had no connection to the greater world. When the Monkees TV show became a hit, I had no idea who they were. I remember getting teased by my classmates because I still carried my Beatles lunch box. Clearly, my parents were trying to stifle my 5th grade social life.

   After several years, they finally relented. I have a suspicion they were mainly interested in watching the whole "landing on the moon" event, in 1969. Whatever their reason, we finally got a TV again. However, still not a color one. To tell the truth, they never had a color TV until after I moved out, which was sometime in 1981. Anyway, they strictly monitored our viewing time. We kids were each allotted 30 minutes a day of TV time. Remember, this was at a time when there were maybe 4 channels, no cable, and the stations went off the air at night.

   There were no channels devoted entirely to cartoons. In fact, the only time cartoons were on was on Saturday mornings. If we woke up earlier than they started, we got to watch the farm report. I kid you not. And early on Sunday morning we were treated to the roller derby, but no cartoons.

   So we each got to watch TV for 30 minutes a day. Of course, it wasn't long before we were watching each others blocks of time. After a while, the parental units gave up. This is what I got for having parents that were both teachers. My mom taught pre-school, and my dad taught math at Mahopac High School. 

   My point here, and I do have one, is that one of my favorite programs that was shown at Christmas time was A Christmas Carol, the one with Mr. Magoo. I loved the songs, and remember the show fondly. I have been waiting for it to air this year. So far, I have been disappointed. I will keep hoping, however. And if, for some reason, it never hits the airwaves this year, perhaps I can find it on DVD somewhere. I would love to see it again!