Sit right back and I will tell you a tale - - - - -
�Popeye!!! �
�Popeye!!!� the little boy child screamed excitingly as he entered the room that held the black and white television where his favorite show had just begun with Popeye blowing a �toot toot� from his pipe. He plunked his bottom on the floor and if mother had allowed would have been within a foot of the screen. Popeye was his hero. Popeye was his role model. And this was me at about four years old. My mother is the one who told me how excited I would be when Popeye came on, plopping down on the floor and wiggling back and forth as Popeye�s adventure unfolded. I do remember enjoying Popeye very much and having several favorite episodes that even today, if channel surfing, I will stop and watch. As much as I admired Popeye though, until I reached adulthood, Popeye could not get me liking spinach.
I remember many shows growing up, such as �I Dream of Jeannie�, �Bewitched�, and my favorite, and perhaps yours, �Gilligan�s Island�. Ever watch an old �Red Skelton Show� program? The one I was fortunate to see even had the old commercials in it. What a hoot that was.
�Gilligan�s Island� was about a ship wrecked crew of seven people, comprised of Gilligan, the skipper, a professor, a movie star, the millionaire and his wife, and Mary Ann (awwwwww). They supposedly were on a three hour cruise when a storm struck and they were left shipwrecked on a deserted island. Gilligan serves as their nemesis for most rescues but their hero for most problems that come to this little island of the sea.
Why would such a show make such a lovable impression on so many beside myself? So many times they should have been so easily rescued. The reasons they were kept from being rescued were getting goofier and goofier. The show was beyond reality, the show was pure fun � its� only reality it ever really had. It portrayed the widest variety of people that seven people could. Married life, single life, leadership issues and friendship issues mixed in with a wide variety of lifestyles all thrown onto one common ground - the island. Here we have an excellent illustration of common ground - an island, and not one of them voted off the island though many times poor Gilligan would have been. There were occasions in the show when one of the group felt they needed to leave the group, that they were either not needed or loved or they felt threatened. On each occasion the individual came to realize that they needed and loved the group while at the same time the group found out that they needed and loved the individual.
One of the oldest questions was who would get whom if the singles married. I guess the most popular answers I heard were Gilligan and Mary Ann (which the show promoted this at times) and most thought the professor would end up with Ginger (the movie actress). Why is it most boys, at least where I grew up, would get wide-eyed over Ginger, but got warm-hearted towards Mary Ann. Myself, I was a cross very much between the professor and Gilligan growing up. I guess I was doomed from the start since I have yet to find someone who will love me like Mary Ann and fire me up like Ginger
Mary Ann was a farm girl from the Midwest supposedly. She was a sweet, petite and fit, lovely looking honee of a gal. She wore short shorts sometimes that fit her curves very nicely. She was kind and considerate. �Miss Perky� to the extreme perhaps. I think many a boy looked for a Mary Ann in their life. Too bad us boys were not �Gilligan� enough. Or maybe some of us were? Ginger sizzled sexiness anywhere and everywhere, and her sway I am sure was noticed each time she came in to view (or walked away from view. Take a notice how the camera will usually follow her when she leaves the scene, but not as much for Mary Ann).
�Gilligan�s Island� is sheer fun to watch. I have begun to watch it again in preparation for this letter. As a goofy loving male I love the show. I still love to watch Ginger�s wiggle, Mary Ann�s wholesomeness (and short shorts
Watching the show again has reminded me how much some programs enrich one�s life. With so much �bad� stuff for one to feed one�s soul on right now (more than usual with the war and all), it has been nice for me to watch pure fun and loving friendships as they interact. I am reminded of another fun and lighthearted show to watch and yet also full of life�s illustrations, which was �The Cosby Show�.
Healing up from my foot surgery, stuck in a chair with the foot up now and doing �toe exercises� (how humiliating and painful but necessary), I realize from the inputs my friends have given me that these stories neither need to be long or frequent to be enjoyed. I will discontinue saying they will be sent at a certain time for they will now be surprise visits I hope you enjoy. And instead of being long, I will strive to take more time and instead of �rambling a story� (as one of my friends would say), I will strive to construct a story that is compact and very enjoyable to read, and bursting with information and insights.
I love you all my friends. I am not sure how my focus will be when I get back to work. The time I have had to sit back and think (what else was I going to do?) instead of being in the rat wheel has allowed me to look inside and share some of those �inside� views on my website. I was very pleased with the couple of pictures friends sent. As I have said, those are my gold stars (maybe I am a teacher�s pet after all).
Lovingly yours my �Island of Friends�,
WayneKarl
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