Television Memories

         Where this came from:  I was thinking about how different children’s TV show are now from the way they were when I was young.



                   TELEVISION MEMORIES

          Kay looked up from her crossword puzzle.  “Dan, do you know what was the name of Roy Rogers’ dog?”

         Dan answered without taking his eyes off the game on TV.  “Bullet.”

         “Bullet was the name of a dog?”

         “That’s right, Bullet.  Look, the guy was a cowboy and back then cowboys were all about guns and stuff.  Before all the anti gun people were around. His horse was named Trigger, by the way.”

         She counted spaces.  “Yes, that fits.”

         “Didn’t you ever watch cowboy pictures?”

         She picked up her glass and took a sip.  “Nope.”

         “Every Saturday morning on the little black and white screen.  Cowboy movies with big fight scenes and shootouts and the good guys always won.”

         “By shooting people?”

         “What did you watch?”

         “We couldn’t watch anything violent.  My mother caught my brother watching the Three Stooges once and hit the roof.”

         “Man, those Stooges were gold!  You never watched them?”

         “Girls hate the Stooges.”

         “You missed a lot in life, is all I can say.”

         She finished her Snapple and put the glass down.  “I still think it’s strange, a TV show targeted at children and all about fights and guns.”

         “But we knew it was all play acting.”

         “Did you have toy guns?”

         “Sure, I had a six gun that looked just like Matt Dillon’s”

         “Who?”

         “Another Western hero.”

         “Another cowboy?”

         “No. This one was a law man.  That show is still on in reruns.  That show was for grownups.  The hero’s girlfriend was a madam and ran a saloon.”

         “Did Roy Rogers have a girlfriend?”

         “No, he had a wife.”

         “What was her name?  Revolver?”

         “No. Her name was Dale.”

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