A news item that most hit me was the death of Bob Barker. I thought of The Price Is Right. And I thought of Ralph Edwards, Barkers’ friend and predecessor. They both did Truth or Consequences, and named our NM town on a dare. T’r’C, we call it.
TV game shows are among my earliest childhood memories. Would YOU Like to be Queen for a Day? (Screams and applause.) Uncle Al and Captain Wendy, Skipper Ryle, and Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Greenjeans. Lil’ Rascals and Laurel and Hardy. “That’s another fine mess you’ve gotten us into.”
Superman and the Lone Ranger. And the Cisco Kid and Pancho and, later, Texas Rangers and Route 66; all of which gave me dreams of Santa Fe. Dreams that lived on. Scenery, music, language, architecture, and hot food. I grabbed as much McCormick red chili powder as I could. Chili, they called it. I thought of a country by that name. Wow!
The Santa Fe Trail. I had to follow it home. Home. Red or green chilé!
Cowboys and Indians, The Day the Earth Stood Still, and the rest. Years later, I see a reminiscence of outlet malls. Folks argue who’s the best among contentious idiots for President. A photo shows a man with a metal prosthetic hand getting the Medal of Honor.
Climate change dictates more electric cars, not gas. But that puts oil and gas employees out of work. Batteries for the cars are dangerous and expensive and Earth unfriendly to produce. Some folks “revive” protests from my “younger” years. Writers and film makers object to Artificial Intelligence. Insensitive cowboys and Indians are re-runs.
Klaatu barada nikto
Back then, could I have imagined the magic of typing this with fingers on a tiny screen on my lap? As I type, Route 66: on TV across the room. Someone predicts weather. A stoopid ad shows women flashing eyes and blowing kisses for a bar. Texas Game Wardens (not Rangers) protect wild things in wild places, keep the public safe, and now and then, put a bad guy in jail.
The memories seem so long ago. WordPress offered century-long websites for $38,000. That much in my childhood would be about $446,779 now.
Thanks for the memories.