Do You Remember These Old TV Shows?

As I was growing up in the late 60's and early 70's there was actually some good entertainment on television and we didn't have to pay out the nose for 100 channels to find it, either. I remember spending the night at my grand parents house. They were getting up there a bit in age and seemed to think that all that rock n roll hippy stuff was pretty crazy.

They watched shows like Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Death Valley Days, Rawhide, and The Rifleman, all rootin' tootin' cowboy shows. I think the reason they enjoyed them so much was because they had grown up during a time that was very much like those shows. My grand dad grew up around the little mining towns of Silverton and Durango, Colorado.

As a teenager Granddad's first job was working for the undertaker. The first time they got called out was because a 'lady of the night' had froze to death in her room above the saloon. (I was about 10 when he was relating this story to my cousins and I. Unfortunately granny walked in and interrupted him. He got a good scolding for telling us about it and we never did hear the rest of it, except they were trying to maneuver the stiff frozen, naked body down the outside stairs)

My granny's family were pioneers of Lincoln County, New Mexico, having moved there from west Texas. My granny remembered an outlaw coming to their ranch while she was growing up to exchange his spent horse for a fresher one from her father.

Of course all those Westerns have begun to blur together in my memory. They had many similar plot lines, a lot of which were based on actually happenings. Sheep herders versus cattle ranchers, stage coach, train and bank robberies, green horns from back East, the good guys always wore white hats and always won the day.

Besides Westerns, Granny & Granddad liked to watch the Ed Sullivan show. I think that's the first place I saw Johny Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash. I know it was the first place I ever saw Elvis Presley. (Granny didn't seem too thrilled with the gyrating hips, but later on said she liked his voice and collected most of his gospel and Christmas albums. I think that was just a cover up though). We all enjoyed Joan Rivers, Flip Wilson and many others that made us laugh.

Later in the evening Granny & Granddad watched the news and went to bed.

Saturday mornings were my favorites though. While I liked Woody Woodpecker, Mickey Mouse and Wile E. Coyote, I was in love with horses and cowboys. I couldn't wait until the cartoons were over and the good stuff came on, like Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and even Rin Tin Tin, because I like dogs too.

While it's fun to watch short clips of these old shows over on You Tube, it's even more fun to own all the shows to watch in the comfort of your own living room, just like the old days. (only minus the commercials!)

I love to read your comments, keep 'em coming!