So, now I join the world of blogging. Why today? Why not?
Like so many people my age, I continue to try to grasp this great cyberspace thing. As a person who well remembers when the communication of information came from the perfectly folded newspaper thrown at our front door every afternoon or the delicate turn of a radio dial, I do appreciate the vastness of today's information vehicles.
Why anyone would be interested in my view of the world, I cannot imagine. But, now in the autumn of my years, I have decided to throw my thoughts out there anyway. This blog will be called From-the-Peanut-Gallery. The term Peanut Gallery dates back to the heyday of Vaudeville and referred to the cheap seats in the theater. This, ostensibly, is where the most raucous of the audience sat. The least expensive, and thus, the favorite snack of those seated up in the rafters, was a bag of peanuts. As the master hecklers, this not so auspicious group would often throw their treats at the performers; food for thought – so to speak.
Clearly, the real fun resided in the Peanut Gallery. So, in much the same fashion, I hope to take a critical and perhaps cynical, look at those things that interest me – business, politics, art, literature, sports and life-its-own-self - and throw a few peanuts.
And, I have a personal connection with the Peanut Gallery with which many of us are most familiar. In 1949, thanks to my mother’s cousin who worked for NBC, I found myself one August afternoon, forcefully seated in the second row of the Peanut Gallery on the Howdy Doody Show surrounded by Dilly Dally, Mr. Bluster, Princess Summer Fall Winter Spring, Chief Thunder Thud, the honking irrepressible clown Clarabelle, the fatherly Buffalo Bob Smith, and, of course our freckled wooden friend, Howdy. For a less than confident 6 ½ year old it was a scary place. But I survived.
So now I have decided to take a swipe at another scary place – cyberspace. And it is with the same trepidation I had seated in the Peanut Gallery over 60 years ago - do I really belong here? We’ll see.
And now a word from our sponsor…
I love your reference to the Peanut Gallery! Many happy hours were spent in front of the old Magnavox watching Howdy Doody.
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to reading more posts to your blog. You're doing an excellent job so far!:o))
I like it. It is fresh and more importantly, it is you. Keep going.
ReplyDeleteThanks Judy and Fred. Today the two of you tomorrow the world - or maybe not
ReplyDeleteRandy, I have never met Fred but I have been a follower of his since early '09.
ReplyDeleteI like to follow blogs that interest me or that I can learn from. In Fred's case it was due to a couple of things that happened in '08 and'09. First was the start of the market crashing due to bad decisions by bankers that knew what they were doing. Fred help guide a lot of us along this unfamiliar path. Second was the company that I worked for decided to file for bankruptcy and then to throw the salaried retirees under the bus. With Fred's unknowingly help in explanations of things that were going on I was able to keep my sanity and move on.
Another blog I follow is my daughters, she has three, art, running and memories dedicated to a very close friend that passed away too early in life. I also follow her hubbies blogs on cars and art and then there are several from all over the world, favorite is from Romania, on photography.
This leads me to yours. It was your profile that said that's it. A perspective of my generation in general. You see, I too have a hard time in this techno world and the language of this generation sometimes. I had my weird days of talking and trying to say something intelligent when I couldn't back in the 60's. Now I just want plain English.
So, welcome to the world of blog and enjoy. I will be looking forward to reading your posts. Just click the yellow Porsche and you will find me.
Hi, Randy --
ReplyDeleteI remember the Howdy Doody Show very well (and I too am in the autumn of my years). I'm interested in your view of the world, so keep on blogging!