Oldies but Goodies

I was a television hog the other day. It was Saturday and hubby was at work. If I had to watch one more kid show I was going to scream. So I told the kids to go play in their rooms, read a book, or go outside. But it was my turn for the zombie machine.

I watched an Andy Hardy marathon. I didn't get to watch all of them, but I watched a couple. And they were still hilarious. Have you ever seen them? My mom watched a lot of old television shows and when there is only one TV and I wanted to watch, I either watched what she wanted or I didn't watch. And she watched some really good shows.

Andy Hardy is played by Mickey Rooney. His father is a judge. Also in the house is his sister, mother, and aunt. And poor Andy can get into a scrape faster than anything. I actually laughed out loud a couple of times. One line has now become a favorite. The father was giving the sister advice and said, "Conversations should be like a woman's skirt. Short enough to be interesting, but long enough to cover the important things." How funny is that?

One of my other favorites was "Ma and Pa Kettle". I loved those shows. They had a million kids, lived out in the woods, and were very back woods. But man they were funny. Mom would put on one of those and we would laugh and laugh. Part of it was how silly it was. But part of it was absolutely how simple the show was. Simple acting, simple language, simple plot lines. But fantastic entertainment.

And "Blondie" movies were some of my all time favorites. How can you not like Dagwood Bumstead? Bless his little pea pickin' heart. He couldn't do anything right to save his life. And the poor mailman. The comic strip is funny, but the movies are fantastic.

I would love to see some of those again, but they are never on TV anymore. And I haven't seen them on DVD anywhere. But they are good quality television. They were made when quality was king. There isn't any innuendo or showing of body parts. Kisses are closed mouth. When was the last time you saw a kiss on television without tongue? I'm not saying I don't like it when I kiss, but to see it grosses me out a little.

And my kids liked the Andy Hardy movies. Even with no explosions, CGI, or animated anything, they enjoyed them. They understood what was being said and I didn't need to explain anything to them or even use that famous phrase, "I'll explain it to you when you get older. " If I had popped popcorn and hubby would have been home it would have been better.

So if any of you see them on DVD for a reasonable price, they would make a great gift for your favorite Hawaiian. That would be me, just in case you were wondering. Do you have any favorite old shows? Let me know and let's share the joy.