I have joked about Captain Kangaroo here. But I can’t put a piece of scotch tape on anything, without thinking about that guy. I used to love to watch him make things in the “art” section of the show. He would meticulously cut out construction paper, and tape it to something, to make a something else.
I was thinking a lot about all of this…. very early this morning. In retrospect, I can see that I spent as much time with Captain Kangaroo as I did any other single-one person during that time. When I was very young. It seems to me like I was always by myself when I was watching him.
I’m not sure how this can be… but it seems that way.
The TV was in our dining room on East Bruce Avenue, in Dayton. It sat atop the old wooden buffet in that room. All the way to the left of the buffet.
There were no TV-watching-chairs in that area. Just two Lay-Z-Boys in the living room, which Mom & Dad would turn around to watch TV. The Lawrence Welk Show, and such. But for the kids, you could either sit on a dining room chair, or on the floor. There were some large pillows in the corner to prop you up if need be.
No remote controls growing up. And three channels. But oh the things we could watch on TV! It was like magic. Lucille Ball, The Flintstones, The Carol Burnett Show, The Munsters, My Three Sons, and so many more. THAT… is when I started loving TV. I still do. Not all of it, by any means of the imagination. But certain parts for sure. You can learn a lot on the television.
I think that is what I liked the most about Captain Kangaroo, too. I had one hour, of being whisked away to a magical world, where Mr. Moose, Dancing Bear, Mr. Bunny Rabbit, Grandfather Clock, and Mr. Green Jeans, would indulge in silly fun, all the while, learning things of incredible & marvelous importance. For a 4-year-old.
But behind all that magic, and wonder…. was just an ordinary guy named Bob. He was an enlisted Marine in WWII. Now. How he got from there…. to playing Clarabell the Clown on the Howdy Doody Show… to Captain Kangaroo….. I simply do not know.
Yet, that guy gave so many people…. a little piece of intrigue, wonder, and curiosity. He did it so gently, and peacefully. That Bob.
I guess that is my point. We may think we are ordinary. But in fact, we are all talented and have so much to share with the rest of the world. We can bring a little magic, each day, to someone else’s life. A little scotch tape and construction paper. Yep. We can be that Bob.
If you set goals and go after them with all the determination you can muster, your gifts will take you places that will amaze you.
— Les Brown
When you’re true to who you are, amazing things happen.
— Deborah Norville