When I was a kid...a short walk down memory lane

I'm of an age now where I can say "when I was a kid".  I'm also of an age now where when I say it, it makes me cringe because it makes me sound so old.  So mature.  But, when I was a kid (shudder) I remember watching The Muppet Show before ballet class.  I would not leave the house until the ending credits and music was rolling and Kermit the Frog waved wildly, jumped up and down and said "byyyyyyeeeeeee".  I also liked Sesame Street and the Electric Company.  Remember the 12 song? 123456789101112 do do do do do do do do...do do do 12!  Ok, writing it out doesn't make much sense, but I'm singing it in my head.  And if  you are of a certain age, you have the song stuck in your head now, too!  Gordon and Maria, Mr. Hooper, Bob, Big Bird, Mr. Snuffalufagus and Barkley were my favorites.  Telly kind of annoyed me.  Elmo was beyond my time but my kids liked him.  Those shows were comforting, entertaining and educational, even though we didn't know it at the time.  Ok, maybe The Muppet Show wasn't educational but still, a lot of fun!  I also used to watch Lil Rascals reruns and Abbott and Costello. Man, those were a blast!

My kids watched Sesame Street, Barney, Rugrats and Hey Arnold.  Out of the Box on Disney and Gula Gula Island were favorites, too.  Now, I'm just not that impressed with today's programming.  Yes, I watch tv, yes my kids watch tv and no, I'm not at the point of banning it.  But it seems like the more vulgar, the more distasteful, the more on edge just for the sake of edge, the better.  There are shows that show videos of people breaking limbs, pranking people, being stupid just for stupid's sake.  When you're 12 and 16 fart jokes are still funny.  Ok, when you're 40, they're still pretty funny but for an entirely different reason.  Most of the shows today are geared towards dumbing down our society.  Snooki?  Really?  I guess it could be a great learning tool to sit down with your 16 year old and say, "you see honey, those kinds of girls will give you nothing but genital warts and herpes.  Stay far, far away."  And the Bachelor and Bachelorette....I can't say that I've watched any of those shows since maybe the very first one ever and even then just one time.  I found the concept completely weird that on a reality show with hundreds of cameras and people around, watching your every move and the cattiness of most of the ladies...how could you possibly find love?  It seems so far fetched.  And really, have any of them ever made it beyond the show?  Just my opinion, not judging you if you watch it, just think it's not really my cup of tea.  But I'm the one that likes shows like The First 48, which is pretty much the same thing all the time.  To each his own, I suppose.

Anyway, I kind of went off on a tangent here, got on my preachy soap box, when all I really meant to do was take a short walk down memory lane and reminisce about the shows I loved as a kid.  I wish those shows would resurface.  And I wish our kids weren't so desensitized by today's society that Abbott and Costello and The Three Stooges were still must see tv.