You Gotta Teach 'Em This Stuff

Our office is a haven for grandchildren. We have grandmothers and grandfathers where I work. They're a club, and any club member--new or existing--will host their impromptu meetings with either a rookie bringing in their first photos of the grandchild (usually in a book) or some of the grandkids will actually show up. Our administrator had to implement a "20 minute" rule once these gatherings began or office productivity could grind to a halt. I like watching the club operate, though. It looks like they're all having fun.

During one of the impromptu club meetings, I chimed in that some parents are failing their children (not really, of course, but I was exaggerating for effect) in the area of old television shows. This deficiency, I declared to any and all within earshot, will only be corrected by an army of grandparents dedicated to the proposition that some old television shows will be lost forever unless they get serious. This might be as simple as going to Nick at Nite and TiVo-ing or a Blockbuster run, or in some cases, a DVD purchase. Once I got the list started, they chimed in with their own necessities, and here's what I can remember from our list--everybody contributed so I can't remember who put what on the list, but here's as many as I could remember:

In no particular order:

Naturally, The Andy Griffith Show (and distinctly NOT the spin-off Mayberry RFD) got things started. Favorite characters were mentioned (Floyd the runaway favorite. I was expecting Barney Fife) and favorite episodes were listed. Helen Crump was declared to be very attractive.


Then shows quickly became nominated:

The Three Stooges.
I Love Lucy.
Gilligan's Island.
The Brady Bunch.
The Little Rascals.
I Dream of Jeannie.
Any and all muppets shows & movies, including Sesame Street--although that is still running.

The longest discussion involved the entire library of Looney Tunes DVD box-set (it cost $150 bucks or so, making it a Christmas purchase or some other special occasion--like maybe a 5th birthday). This one sparked the most interest because the discussion diverted quickly into our favorite episodes. Some were obvious (Elmer Fudd and Buggs in "Kill the Wabbit" to the Barber of Seville) and others not so much (like when Sylvester was singing along to the Charelston before the dog clocked him with the fence slat). Our favorite characters came up, too. Foghorn Leghorn (and that little Chicken Hawk) got a surprise nod, along with Marvin the Martian. Tweety was mentioned, too. I'm a Buggs man all the way. It was declared a club mandate that, at the very least, every home should have a DVD compilation of 5 or 7 cartoons. Grandparent Law. Voted and approved.

I also tried to nominate Speed Racer cartoons (the Mach 5 was the coolest car I'd ever seen, and how can you not like the nicknames of his sidekicks: Spridle and Chim-Chim?) as well as Clutch Cargo (they had REAL MOUTHS and his sidekick's names were Spinner and Paddlefoot!). I tried to get any of the grandparents who were aware that their children were going to have a set of twins to incorporate those sidekick names in any combination to name the new grandkids. Who wouldn't like Spinner Chim-Chim Johnson? Spridle Paddlefoot Smith? It fell on deaf ears. Motion failed.

And it was about that time the 20-minute rule was invoked and everybody had to go back to work.

Since that's the case, what did they leave out that future generations will need to know about?