a little thing

 I was listening to the news as usual and the weatherman, yes, he is a man, was talking about a storm front. At one point he says, that storm will "exit, stage right" by six o'clock. My immediate response was, hey that's what Snagglepuss always said! My wife laughed and said , you're right. Heavens to Murgatroyd. I wonder how many children would know who Snagglepuss is today? My guess is, not many. Truth be told I had almost forgotten about him myself. Funny how a phrase or a single word can trigger a memory. Snagglepuss had a habit of ending a sentence with the word, even. I can hear that voice to this day.

 Remember those Saturday morning cartoons? We sure had an entire cast of them. Yogi Bear, Wally Gator, Quick Draw McGraw, Bobba Loey, Peter Potamus and Huckleberry Hound to name a few. What about Minute Mouse, Underdog, and Fearless fly? All are familiar to me, and most are forgotten today. Mr. Magoo was a favorite. Magilla Gorilla. 

 I haven't gone looking for them, but I suspect they are all available on some streaming service. That is something I have begun to explore in the last few weeks. I had DISH and it was just becoming too expensive for what I was getting. I find there aren't many new programs that appeal to me. Out of the many channels I found I was really only watching about six or seven of them. So, what's the use of paying for 100 plus channels? Currently I'm trying out a free trial of Paramount Plus and Frndly TV. I'll keep one but haven't decided which one. 

 When I was a kid those cartoons were only on Saturday morning. As I remember they were over by ten or eleven. I'd definitely be outside by then anyway. I didn't binge watch that much is certain. I do remember getting yelled at. " Get back from that television, you want to go blind?" Sunday morning we got the funny papers. Sometimes played with them with silly putty. After that it was off to church. 

  It's funny how much we all learned from those cartoons though. We did get history lessons, moral lessons and lessons in just getting along with each other. Most of my knowledge of Opera comes from cartoons. Elmer Fudd singing, I'm hunting wabbits, hunting wabbits! And Bugs saying, what's up Doc? But today Elmer has been disarmed, Foghorn Leghorn has been declared a bully and the chickenhawk a predator. Bobba Loey is a stereotype even though s'right. Boris and Natasha no longer chase after Rocky and Bullwinkle. They taught us about those Russians, didn't they? Yes, and the Russinas are still spying and interfering in everything. 

 Exit, stage right! Hadn't heard that used in a long time. Took me back in time a ways. Brought a smile to my face. Sometimes it is the littlest things that start your day. Makes you feel good even.