Mama Kat Thursday: The Summer Without TV

-
The Mama Kat blog writing topic for today is to, "Trouble I Got Into One Summer."

It wasn't a bad sort of trouble. I didn't even cause it. It was just an inspiration our parents had that didn't quite work out as imagined.
I think it was around 1972. The television had gone on the fritz in the spring, just before school let out. I'm quite sure it was an older model with vacuum tubes and all. We always had "adopted TV's" that our Dad would be home from work because customers would often choose to give up a TV rather then fix it. He was a professional TV repairman. It's what he did and he could have easily fixed our TV.
However, he and Mother Mom decided we 3 kids should have a summer, "without TV."
That sounds like a good idea, right?
Get the kids outside, less time in front of the tube. 
We lived way out in the country anyway, with lots of woods and a creek, so there was plenty of adventure to be had, plus we could play games or Barbies indoors.
There was just one thing no one counted on: the record player!
It was the era of 33-size vinyl records. We had numerous kids albums full of sing-along songs, including a Winnie-the-Pooh album. My youngest sister, who was around 10, loved playing those albums---especially that Winnie-the-Pooh album!


 After hearing Pooh sing about bears and trees and honey day after day after day, we started having Winnie-the-Pooh dreams.
I remember Pooh and his honey tree haunting my dreams, singing, "Isn't it funny, how a bear likes honey? Buzz, Buzz, Buzz. I wonder why he does?"
It wasn't just me either. Mother, too, was having singing Pooh dreams.
It was an ear-worm all day and a nightmare all night.
I'm not sure if we made it all the way to August that summer before Mother was telling Dad he had to fix the TV and soon, so we could all stop dreaming about Winnie-the-Pooh!
That's my amusing "summer trouble" one year when I was a kid that's one of those laughable family memories now.
***
What's your family's favorite amusing story?

Thanks for Visiting!

Comments

Unknown said…
I've never been a fan of Pooh. I think it's funny how kids want to play the same thing over and over. Bless your parent's hearts for trying to get you outside and playing using your imagination. Came over from mamakats. Great story!!
Jul 7, 2016, 10:44:00 PM
carol daniels said…
I remember playing vinyl records! Your parents had a great idea, but it is a little amusing that it back fired on them. Have your pooh dreams ended??
Jul 8, 2016, 8:35:00 AM
May said…
When I was a kid I had a 45 record (you know the single version) of I Believe. It was so dramatic. I believe for every drop of rain that falls, a flower grows. But at age 6 it was pure poetry on a level of beauty I had never before encountered. So, I encountered it daily, many, many times daily. Finally, two of my big brothers decided something had to give. Either I was out or that record was. We lived next door to the city post office where they flung it frisbee style right on top of that roof.
Jul 9, 2016, 12:54:00 PM
Susan Joy Clark said…
Funny story. :) I do dream musical dreams sometimes. My older brothers are 12, 10 and 8 years older than me. They had a "Huckleberry Hound Sing-Along" album that they played to pieces and drove my parents to madness. By the time, I was old enough to play it, the album cover had a tear down the center and was held together with masking tape. My poor parents had to hear me play the silly album repeatedly even after my brothers were fairly grown. They had to wait a long time to get a respite from that. :) Thanks for sharing your story.
Jul 10, 2016, 3:39:00 PM

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment!

Popular posts from this blog

Good Eating Monday: Apple Cranberry Sausage Stuffing!

-
Image
Now this some wicked good dressing!  I tried it for Thanksgiving this year and everyone loved it! I've been looking for just the right dressing and I may have finally found it!  It's also healthy with a tasty combo of fruit, veggies and a mix of white & whole wheat bakery breads. It will fill a  fill a 9 x 13 pan.  You can use fresh or dried herbs. I've included the measurements for both. Just remember dried seasoning is more concentrated in flavor because it is dried, so you need less of it then fresh herbs. I have fresh Parsley growing outside and this was a great use for it! I found leftover over stuffing wonderful heated up and topped with a over-easy egg for lunch!  Apple Cranberry Sausage Stuffing Ingredients:  5 1/2 cups fresh European style or sourdough bread, white, sliced and cubed 2 1/2 cups wheat bread, whole grain sliced and cubed 1 lb ground pork or turkey ( I used Jimmy Dean's Turkey Crumbles, which was 8 oz and that worked great! ) 1 1/2
Read more

Good Eating Monday: Peach Cobbler Dump Cake!

-
Image
Yes, I tried another new Pinterest recipe and this one is a winner! The primary dictionary definition of a "Dump Cake," is an easily made cobbler in which cake mix is dumped over canned fruit or pie filling.  This recipe was pinned from Del Monte, which means it's been a recipe that's been created & tested in a corporate test kitchen. That's one benefit of all those label, can & box recipes provided by manufacturers on their product packaging. You can even buy cookbooks featuring nothing, but package & label recipes of which many are vintage. The only changes I'd suggest is add one more 15 oz can of fruit. It can be more peaches, cherry fruit cocktail, regular fruit cocktail or whatever you want. (So, I've noted 4 cans of peaches in the recipe.)   It just needs a little more volume on the fruit quantity.  And stir a teaspoon or two of cinnamon into the fruit! Otherwise, this is an excellent, quick dessert you can serve hot with v
Read more

Mama Kat Thursday: Backwoods Indiana Memories: Laundry Day

-
Image
Wringer Washing Machine I remember while growing up in rural Indiana in the 60's and 70's, doing laundry was an all day event. My clearest memories of  "laundry day," come from summer time, when we were out of school.  Mother had a certain day of the week she did laundry usually. I liked to sleep in and I recall waking up around 9:30 to the chugging rhythm the wringer washer already at work.  I'd see all the dirty laundry sorted into piles around the utility room floor: whites, light colors,  medium colors, dark colors and heavy darks, like jeans. (The photo is one I found online of a Kenmore wringer washer quite similar to the last model I remember Mother having in the 70's.) You have to understand, wringer washers only do the washing part. S he'd start with whites, then once the washer finished it's wash cycle, it would stop. Then she'd, by hand, pull each item of clothing out of the washer and feed it through the wringer rollers
Read more

Garden Pic Wednesday: Bachelar Buttons!

-
Image
Garden Pics today: A Profusion of Bachelor Buttons!  Sometimes they are called Cornflowers. I've never had such a thick and prosperous bunch! These I planted last fall from a random leftover box of Wild Flower type seeds and successfully protected them from the December deep freeze. I favor the blue, but they also come in shades of pink and white. My newest Garden addition: This green ceramic frog now sits amongst the Golden Creeping Jenny! I found him at the Dollar Tree.  
Read more

Wednesday Garden Pics: Petunias & Bi-color Hibiscus

-
Image
Since for July 4th, 2012, I thought this pic of my red and white petunia's would be appropriate! You can also see my pretty miniature roses below it. (The petunia's are in a pot; the rose is in the ground next to it.) Petunias need frequent dead-heading and tend to get long and leggy as they bloom out.  I snip those legs and "train" them to be bushy with a limited drape. This forces them to sprout new growth. The next photo, below, is a shot of one of my Hardy Hibiscus I have in the front yard next to the parking spot. Notice one bloom is red and the other, pink. Yet this is one plant from a single root. It's uniquely bi-color. The pink portion of the plant didn't bloom last year, so I didn't know. I plan on trying to save seed from this Hibiscus to see if I can luck into more.
Read more