Privileged Kid

      For a Pipefitter's Kid from a small town in Arkansas, I was a very privileged kid. We had the very first TV in the North End of Paragould. Since Dad was a plumber we had the first indoor toilet too, and Oil Heat which was a lot easier than splitting firewood. Mom had a brand new Electrolux, a G.E. Electric Range, and kitchen cabinets with a tilt down Flour Bin, and she made good use of it. She was the best cook and baker ever. We had the Preacher and visiting Evangelists over every Sunday and cranked Ice Cream Sunday Afternoon all Summer.
      I remember when Dad and his friends put up our 80 foot TV antenna. It took about 6 strong men on guy wires to hoist the steel pole which Dad made of pipe. We got our TV, a cabinet model, in spring of 1950. Speck Rhoades was playing as the delivery man hooked up the new antenna wire. He was impressed with the quality of the picture, no messing with rabbit ears. I was just impressed. Speck Rhoades and Bill Killebrew right in our living room. Later that year I saw Bill Killebrew visit Gene Stimpson's Grocery Store on the corner of Highland and Pruett. He was just about the biggest Star in Memphis at that time. 

      Dad's Friends, Tuff Baker, Roy Boggs, and Ed Stanton, would come over with their wives every Friday Night and watch the Friday Night Fights. Mom and the other wives would talk in the kitchen and watch my little sister Nancy or play Pinochle. I watched the early rounds with the men before they put me in bed, then I'd sneak out and crawl into the hall and watch the later rounds from behind the door way. Wrestling was better received and on a more equal footing in those days with boxing. I really enjoyed a wrestler named Gorgeous George, he had long curly hair and threw golden bobby pins out to the crowd.
      I enjoyed everything on TV including the News. That summer I watched every morning as the Indian in Headdress test screen went off and programming came on. Channel 5 had the Today Show with Dave Garroway host, Frank Blair news anchor, Jack Lescoulie sports, and J. Fred Muggs the chimpanzee Co Host. Later in the morning I usually switched to Radio Variety Shows. I liked Arthur Godfrey, Jack Benny, Lonesome George Goble, and Garry Moore.
      There was also some great music on the Radio in those days. I liked Hey Good Lookin by Hank Williams when mom wasn't listening. She liked stuff like How Much is that Doggie in the Window, Mocking Bird Hill, and Tennessee Ernie Ford.
      When the Evening News came on I was watching again. I saw the refugee camps filling up in the Middle East and the Tanks rolling by. It worried me back then and homeless people pushed into tent cities or living under a piece of roofing tin still bothers me. But one thing related to today's issues I remember is that there were no Palestinians. They were never called that. I actually watched as the Refugees came from Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt. They were simply called Arabs. I wondered why other Arabs would force them out of their own Country where they wanted to live with their brother Arabs? Still doesn't make sense to me. But my research has shown me there was never a Country named Palestine which is a Roman misspelling of Philistine. Philistines were Greek and they are all gone now, centuries ago. 

      One of my favorite late afternoon TV shows (as a little kid) was Winky Dink and the Adventures of Mighty Manfred. They sold a plastic sheet that stuck on the TV Screen, you trimmed it with scissors to fit your particular screen. The basic screen came with 4 big crayons yellow, red, blue, and green. You could then draw on the plastic screen cover. When Winky Dink or Mighty Manfred got in trouble and needed a bridge for instance, you could draw in a big yellow bridge and they were safe. If you left the plastic on the screen it also made the grass look green. (no color TV in those days) Of course so did the sky and the clouds and Perry Mason, but…… Well you just had to use your imagination a little. 

      We all watched TV together in the Evenings. Families spent time together in those days and it was easier with only one TV and 3 channels. I watched the Evening News again and the Tanks were still rolling. I was glad I lived in America. Sometimes I'd sneak in after bedtime, turn the sound down and watch a movie or the Late Show. Then the Test Screen came on again with the same Indian in headdress. I'd watch that a few minutes and sneak back into bed. I was an adventurous sort. Goodnight.