TV or Not TV
Growing Up Absurd
By: Charles Giuliano - Sep 16, 2020
TV or Not TV
Dad bought a TV
It looked like a suitcase
With a nine inch screen
A magnifying glass over it
For a bit of enlargement
First in our neighborhood
All the kids came to see
Crowded around
It’s Howdy Doody Time
Buffalo Bob and Flub-a-Dub
Princess SummerFallWinterSpring
That’s all we talked about
School bus next morning
Always out of focus
Knobs on the back
Constant adjustment
Fiddled with rabbit ears
Dad brought it back
Breaking my little heart
Wait till it's perfected
That took years
Finally our Philco
In the living room
Family gathered round
Test patterns all day
Milton Berle at night
Staring in 1948
Ads for Texaco
Four guys at the pump
Dancing Old Gold Cigarettes
Her little matchbook sidekick
Beat the Clock with
The stunning Roxanne
Leave It to Beaver
Maxwell House coffee brewing
For I Remember Mama
Ding Dong School
Kukla Fran and Ollie
Nerdy Wally Cox
As teacher Mr. Peepers
Remember Our Miss Brooks
Omnibus with Alistair Cooke
A touch of class
Later hosted Masterpiece Theatre
Friday Night Fights
All those shows
Ozzie and Harriet
Their teen sons
David a clunky hunk
Ricky a kindah rock star
Then the big one
Ed Sullivan on Sunday night
Family gathered round
Brought us Elvis
From the waist up
Mom said he was vulgar
We were thrilled
Now, from England
Meet the Beatles
Pip screamed with joy
That was February 9, 1964
JFK assasinated November 22
The grassy knoll
Watched Lee Harvey Oswald
Shot by Jack Ruby
Lowlife local gangster
Funeral all that weekend
The world stopped to watch
The '60s started on TV
With the Fab Four
Then the Stones and Vietnam
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
Looking back at
Growing up absurd
In a world now
Gone to hell in a basket
Where’s the fun in that
Goodnight and good luck
And that’s the way it is