[Ncotham]

You know, I was studying that black and white photo of me staring at that old set, and so many memories came flooding back it was hard not to shed a tear. Thought I'd share a few. My Great Aunt Beula gave my folks that TV, probably in 1956 or so after she'd had it for a couple years already. I came along in 1958, so judging from the photo I'd say I was 3 years old, putting the photo at around 1961. By scanning and enlarging the photo, I could see that the clock on top of the TV showed 6:32, and from the way the shadows fell through the window on the curtains, I could tell it was morning. Was also able to determine that it must have been spring or summer because of the way I was dressed in shorts and short sleeves and by the fact that I was tanned. We had 4 channels broadcast out of Little Rock, Ch 4 KARK - NBC, Ch 7 KATV - ABC, Ch 11 KTHV - CBS and Ch 2 for Arkansas Educational TV. The time of 6:32 AM on the clock made sense because the broadcast day started at 6 AM Central with a recitation of John Gillespie Magee Jr.'s poem 'High Flight':

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air....

Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace.
Where never lark, or even[8] eagle flew —
And, while with silent lifting mind I have trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
- Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

Remember that?

First came the Farm Report from 6:00 - 6:30, and then it was time for Romper Room from 6:30 - 7:00 that always opened with the Pledge of Allegiance, so it was perfectly logical that I was staring at that screen at 6:32 AM. Following Romper Room was, best of all, Captain Kangaroo at 7:00 AM. After Captain Kangaroo it was time to get outside and play at 8:00 AM while the grass was still wet with morning dew! No computers/devices/texting garbage... My how times have changed - the innocence of television and society as a whole has been long lost, but we will always have those memories at least.

I also wondered how many of us learned to tell time, not in kindergarten or first grade, but by learning when our favorite shows would be broadcast? I was probably 3 years old, but I knew when my favorite morning shows came on, and I knew how to turn that old Admiral on and change it to the correct channel. When I was a little older I always eagerly awaited the latest copy of TV Guide to see what was coming on for the week, an entire weeks worth of programming contained in a little booklet barely a quarter inch thick. And what wonderful programming it was back then... If something good was coming on that week, you counted down the days and hours in great anticipation of seeing that show, whatever it was. Those once a year broadcasts of 'Wizard of Oz' immediately come to mind... They weren't just shows; they were EVENTS!

I could go on and on, but I'll spare you that - you all know where I'm coming from (well, at least those of you as old and crusty as I am). Folks, this is why I HAVE to restore that old Admiral... This is a must do, despite my wife's eye-rolling skepticism... That old TV is inextricably linked to my earliest childhood memories and, along with it, everything that once made sense. And, this is why I'm so glad I found this forum with so many nice folks that I feel certain can help me complete this mission:-)