Going Retro...
Monday, August 31, 2009 at 05:52PM Mondays, for me, are routinely spent cleaning up after another weekend tornado has ripped through the house. This morning, with the kids delivered safely to school, I returned home to survey the damage. Laundry, dishes, stacks of homework papers needing to be filed, breakfast crumbs scattered about and random balls lying around from a weekend of games. Just a typical Monday morning at our house.
There are many Mondays that I observe the overflow of our weekend madness and head straight for the door. Avoidance is an option that I've used frequently in the past and I contemplated it again today before submitting to the inevitable chore of restoring order to the nest. I was proud of my courage and bravery as I dug in without complaining. (Never mind that I was home alone and there was no one to complain to.) I worked quickly, efficiently and cheerfully before finally sitting down to tackle the clean laundry that had become part of the family room sofa.
Flipping on the TV for entertainment while I folded, I was immediately reminded why I don't watch daytime TV. Even my favorite channels were barren of watchable programming, so I traveled higher on the channel choices and stumbled right into a real gem for this 80's lady. I could not believe my good fortune. How long has this station been here and how is it that I've never heard of it? RTN - Retro Television Network. It's channel 93 on our cable and I was so excited to find an episode of Quincy M.E. playing while I folded. Growing up, this was one of my very favorite programs! I checked the guide for other programs playing on this channel and it was pay dirt for this old timer. Emergency, Magnum P.I., Ironside, Kojak, Dragnet, Alfred Hitchcock and more.
Although our family does not watch much TV, when we do, we feast on episodes of Andy Griffith, I love Lucy, Gilligan's Island, Dick Van Dyke and Leave it to Beaver, with our hands-down favorite being Andy Griffith. There are so many wonderful, valuable, funny, ethical life lessons that can be learned from these old TV shows. The same shows that I grew up with and watching them all these years later, brings back such fond memories. Our kids have grown to appreciate these old shows too and enjoy them as much as I did, when I was a kid. I'm just so excited to find a new channel filled with old shows that are appropriate and fun for the whole family.
I might just stay home and fold laundry again tomorrow. This 80's lady is so tickled with the retro station, she's thinking about bringing back the big hair, old record player and Sony Walkman. Now that sounds groovy!
Reader Comments (2)
Probably not many people know this, but there was a time when Andy Griffith was a firehouse classic. Across the United States in the 1990's there were probably few fire stations that did not watch AG during lunch hour. Also, James O. Page, considered to be the founder of modern day fire department emergency medical services, provided the inspiration for Emergency! television series. Love that show. Take care, S. KC
We are siblings from another mother. I loved Emergency! too. That's where I learned the phrase, "Pupils are equal and reactive." I did not know the facts you provided about those old shows - interesting! I'm just glad that we are able to view them today. We are big fans of those old, wholesome shows!