It wasn't so long ago that many people were mourning the loss of Mr. Rogers. A wonderful man, of course, but not a part of my childhood, and not a particular favorite of my kids, so my time with him was limited.
Today we lost the man that made Mr. Rogers possible:
Goodbye, Captain. Oh, how I loved you, and Mr. Moose and Bunny Rabbit and Grandfather Clock. The Dancing Bear and Mr. Green Jeans creeped me out ever so slightly, but you, Captain, were The Man. The Captain. THE BEST. Every single morning for so many years, I would plunk my little tushie down on the floor just three feet in front of the console TV with the shiny knobs and wooden cabinet with the doors that closed over the screen (but that we never closed in our house) and watch with joy as you pulled magic out of your great big pockets and then went to a cartoon. And what magical cartoons! Tom Terrific (and of course, His Dog The Mighty Manfred), Rough and Ready. Who was more villanous than Crabby Appleton? Who was more heroic than Tom? Who was more gentle and wonderful and comforting than Captain Kangaroo?
It was with pure joy that I discovered him on public TV on Sunday mornings in the early 80s. We would bring little baby R into our bed, snuggle up together, and watch the Captain. She wasn't very interested, it's true. The Hubs and I, well ... this was the Captain, after all. You could never go wrong with the Captain.
Although I cried like a baby when Howdy Doody went off the air -- I was otherwise a very mature six, I believe -- I never knew that Clarabelle the Clown and Captain Kangaroo were one and the same, not for years. Clarabelle was a clown, after all. I thought he was real, as real as Walter Cronkite on the news.
The Captain, of course, was a real old man who lived in the Treasure House with all those cool puppets. Yes, I knew Bunny Rabbit was a puppet. I had one just like it in my toybox. But the Captain, he was real. He was.
The Five
At this moment, what is your favorite...
1. ...song? Can't pick one at the moment.
2. ...food? Black Bean Soup.
3. ...tv show? Joan of Arcadia.
4. ...scent? Vanilla and cinnamon
5. ...quote? "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke
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I'm watching King of Queens
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