When I was a kid, I read every chance I got. There was no reason not to. We lived in rural areas, and, naturally there was no TV, iPads, PC’s, video games or just about anything except radio and movies which I could go to about twice a month. The radio did have some fifteen minute serials on it. Adventuresome programs they were indeed – Jack Armstrong, CaptainMidnight, Superman, Tom Mix and a few others.
The big problem with them was that there were two networks that had serials on them, and they both broadcast at the same time. Things were so backward then, that you could not even record the ones you were missing. Some of my friends listened to one network, and others to the other one. It did give us something to argue about and debate which serials were the best. I never did care for “Little Orphan Annie.”.Luckily, she was on the network to which I did not listen.
The serials were during the week. There were a couple of worthwhile programs on Saturdays. One was “Henry Aldridge” – sort of a predecessor of Archie Andrews. The other was The Blonde in the house’s favorite – “Let’s Pretend”. Since, the serials only took up about an hour and the Saturdayprograms perhaps two, I had plenty of time to read. Therefore, I would read anything I could get my grubby little hands on. When I was really young, I read the nursery rhymes and memorized most of them.
When I look at the nursery rhymes now, I wonder that my little psyche was not ruined beyond repair. Some of them were pretty difficult to stomach. It was rather like what the poor college students and others go through when an election doesn’t turn out the way it is “supposed” to. Nobody took their kids for help for their stricken “id” back then so we just had to tough it out. Some of those rhymes were pretty rough. I imagine today that many of today’s kids do not even see them, let alone read them.
Apparently, most nursery rhymes were actually codes ridiculing or spreading stories about certain individuals. They did it with rhymes, so that they did not get their heads cut off or have some other punishment inflicted on them. Even so, I still have to wonder what was behind, Goosey Goosey Gander. It certainly sounds innocent enough. However, if you read it, it has some certain unhealthy aspects to it.
“Goosey, Goosey Gander, Whither shall I wander? Upstairs and downstairs, And in my lady’s chamber; There I met an old man who wouldn’t say his prayers; I took him by the left leg, And threw him down the stairs.” Holy Moly, just for not saying your prayers! I cannot explain either why he grabbed him by the left leg and not the right. Perhaps the left leg was code for the old guy being a liberal, but that is not a good reason to throw him down the stairs!
I had no idea back then how tough things were for us. On the other hand, perhaps it was good facing the “tough.”
Barry Evans writes up Life in The Villages for Villages-News.com
