Please Stand By

Way back in time when the television stations used to shut down at midnight, after the National Anthem was played and wouldn’t start programming again until the next morning at 7am, was a time in my life that seemed to be occupied by one main reason for living: Saturday morning cartoons.

The most anticipated day of the week, sometimes because of not having to go to school, but mostly it was because of animated bliss.

My brother and I waited and planned for this like some people would plan and wait for Christmas or a trip to Disneyworld. The night before we would make a solemn pact with each other which pretty much consisted of, “if you wake up before I do, wake me up – or if I wake up before you do, I’ll wake you up!” That way we wouldn’t miss a thing – if only adults would make deals so simply life would run much more smoothly.

Morning came and it was time! We walked quickly and quietly - blanket in tow - to the front of the house, which had been chilled by the single A/C window unit in the kitchen that only seemed to really cool the place down between the hours of 3 and 8am.

After filling bowls with Cheerios or Froot Loops and stirring too much Tang into a tall glass of water - the bottom of the glass layered with a tasty, orange sludge - we bundled up onto the too-cold-vinyl sofa and waited for the television to warm up enough to have a picture, then waited for that picture to change from the rainbow test screen to actual programming.

If memory serves, the first in the lineup was The Woody Woodpecker Show. Some of my favorites, who knows what year, were Heckle and Jeckle, Johnny Quest, Speed Buggy, The Laff Olympics, every Warner Brothers, Scooby-Doo, and the Land of the Lost – I loved dinosaurs and monster movies so to have a “real people” show was amazing and exciting – and who wasn’t freaked out by the Sleestaks or, at least, Chaka – I hated him! Toss in Schoolhouse Rock and the Time For Timer guy who always seemed to hanker for a hunk of cheese – and we were all set.

That is, until the rest of the bunch started to wake up and wander in, fights over changing channels and who gets to sit where, etc., ending with American Bandstand or Soul Train ultimately altering the mood of a few minutes before.

But in the early hours, when it was just me and him in the coolness of the quiet house waiting for our favorites to come on with much anticipation, are some of the most treasured times in my life.

That’s All Folks!