I’ve been rather remiss as of late in doing my duties as the co-author of this blogging team. Over the past three months I’ve only done three posts. My part time job has totally engulfed my free time, almost turning into a full timer! But being the understanding Anghel Wifey she is, Lynndee hasn’t fired me yet. Therefore, it’s time for me to continue onward into the blogosphere halls of web immortality by dong my first Currently entry of this new year. So….here goes!

Watching…

In many ways, I’m what the younger generation considers “old-school” in regard to my likes and interests. And I’ll admit to that fact. Not that I haven’t adapted to this what is an entirely new world to a newly minted ol’ geezer.

Just recently, Lynndee and I both had bemoaned the fact that we hadn’t seen any of the old-timey cartoons we watched while growing up. That bemoaning, though, was almost an omen, for, just the following week, our cable system added new fare to their schedule. And, lo and behold, it was a return of the classic animations of the past!

First off, it was Saturday morning cartoons, just like when I was a kid. In this case, beginning at 7:00 AM, Popeye and Pals are on for an hour, followed by and hour of Tom and Jerry and followed then by an hour of Bugs Bunny and Friends. Wow, was I ever in the heaven of nostalgia!

Popeye was my favorite, followed by Bugs. However, I absolutely loved all those Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters. Who could ever forget such greats as Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, Yosemete Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Daffy Duck and Sylvester. And of course, probably my #1 absolute favorite was the Tasmanian Devil.

As for Lynndee, she loved Tom and Jerry and Tweety. She has a collection of Tweety memorabilia which she unfortunately left in the Philippines. And for some reason, the two vehicles she’s had since learning to drive she nostalgically named “Tweety”.

But then, there’s also a weekly show, Monday thru Friday, of Toon In With Me, featuring “cartoon curator” Bill and his co-host Toony, a cartoon-loving tuna.

One thing I’ve found so interesting is reading the dates of these cartoons in the opening credits. They’re in Roman numerals. One I particularly remember is a Popeye that was released in MCMXXXIII, 1933. I had no idea that they were that old, but it was in black and white. But on the other hand, all the cartoons I ever watched as a kid I saw in black and white for we never had a color TV until 1974, the one I bought after graduating and getting a job. So it is rather interesting seeing all the later toons in the color I didn’t see them in back in the day. At that, most of the toons we’ve been watching now, other than the Popeyes, were made in the 50s in color.

I can’t help but feel that today’s sociologists would bemoan the violence of these classic cartoons. As I recall, back in the 70s and 80s there was much debate about what kids watched on TV and the video games they played, citing that the violence watched desensitized feelings. Little did they know the future of movies and internet gaming.

As an aside, I do have to share the story how my dear sweet late Auntie Helen accidentally dubbed me with my nickname Bud, which the entire family has always known me by and called me. But for some reason, early in my years, I dubbed her Popeye, for some reason. Go figure that one; I certainly can’t remember that childhood reasoning.

Reading…

One of my all-time favorite TV series was Quantum Leap. At the beginning of the last season of this series, there was a powerful two-part episode simply named “Lee Harvey Oswald”. The title itself should explain the plot, but the O’Henry-like ending would blow your mind! But it truly was two of the best episodes in the entire series and having recently re-watched it, that led me to digging out the best book ever written about the Kennedy assassination, William Manchester‘s The Death of a President, an absolute masterpiece.

I followed that with re-reading Stephen King’s 11/22/63, his magnificent time-travel novel about an attempt to change the history of that day, which is what Sam did in the Quantum Leap episodes, with ironically different conclusions.

But then, I finally had a new book to attack, a Christmas gift from Lynndee which, of course, was a new Stephen King book, The Outsider. Thus far, this one is more of a murder mystery detective novel, which may or may not eventually lead into the realm of supernatural horror that King is known for. That remains to be seen.

Celebrating…

An early birthday, seeing that my true official day of birth isn’t until February. However, just this past Saturday, January 23, 2021, I celebrated what I consider my 5th birthday.

That’s so because on that Saturday the 23rd five years ago, I actually died, but thanks to the quick thinking of my wifey, the 911 operator, the EMT guys, the miracles of modern medicine and, #1 of all, the grace of the Man above who had more work for me, I was brought back to life.

So yeah, I’ll definitely always celebrate this date as another day of birth for, if not for this miracle day, this could also be an anniversary of mourning.

The photo above is the first thing I saw looking out the window of my ICU room when I first awoke after four traumatic days.

Looking Forward to…

Another day of celebration, a 10th Anniversary, but of what, I’ll wait until the actual day to share it with you. Sorry to leave you hanging like that, but…see ya then!