I've mentioned in previous columns my love of the simple joys of cast iron cooking, vinyl records, and manual typewriters. These are all niche pastimes, but pastimes that are either seeing a small resurgence, or are still holding on by a small thread; hanging on to the train of progress.
In today's age where technology moves at lightening speed across the Atlantic, e-mails send pictures of your children to friends across the world, and we can all be reached 24 hours a day, there are some some things that I lament the loss of.
Just the other day I was chatting about things we miss in today's connected life. I'm sure people of the older generations will come up with many more than I can, but a few from my childhood come to mind.
One thing that I miss is the old local children's television shows, broadcast and produced locally. Growing up within aerial antenna reach of Philadelphia I remember watching WPVI ABC Channel 6 and shows such as Chief Halftown and Captain Noah. I also remember this show called StarStuff, an odd little show about a kid with a supercomputer in his room that allowed him to talk to a girl in the future.
These shows were campy and had limited production value, but were programs that stuck with me. I can still hear the chords of "Send your pictures to dear old Captain Noah", a song sung during every Captain Noah episode when the submitted drawings of local children were shown on the air. I remember sitting by the TV set waiting anxiously to see the brief shot of my drawing.
Children today do not have access to these locally produced treasures. They are instead given multiple choices of half a dozen kid-oriented channels such as Nickelodeon, Disney, and Pax.
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