When Simple Things Were Amazing

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Today’s Blog Post
When Simple Things Were Amazing

If I say these following names could you tell me where they come from and who talked to these characters all the time?

Rusty and Jerome? Angie and Fiddle? Does that ring any bells yet?

Let me give you more…
A voice would speak and say… "One little chair for one of you, and a bigger chair for two more to curl up in, and for someone who likes to rock, a rocking chair in the middle." as a huge hand would place the tiny little chair, a bigger chair and a rocking chair in place for his guests.

Does that help you any?

There was a huge boot… and it was located in a small village right beside a castle. Does that help you any?

After a person saw the big boot standing beside the tiny village, there was a description of what was happening in the village by that deep voice.

At one point the big voice would say… "Look up, look waaaaay up!"

The owner of that voice was “Friendly”, the giant that invited kids into his castle every day from 1958 to 1985. “Friendly” was actually Bob Homme.

I was 14 when that program came on TV, cool and in high school. The last thing I would ever admit to my friends at school was that I had watched “Friendly” on TV and had sat in one of his small chairs that he had put out for us to sit in.

My younger sister who was about 2 years old was watching that stuff – not me! I was way too sophisticated to tell anyone that I did that kind of thing!

Yet at high school I can remember the guys joking with each other when they would say the famous line… "Look up, look waaaaay up!"

By the time Friendly had run his course and had welcomed 27 years of kids into his castle I had graduated High School, University and Colleges, had married and had two teenagers living in my home – my beautiful daughters Dana and Anda. When Friendly quit welcoming people into his castle I was returning from five years of living in Hong Kong.

By the time “Frendly” packed it in the world was no longer simple and simple was no longer amazing.

To think that a kid would sit in the TV room and spend a whole 15 minutes listening to a really big guy tell what people were doing in the village below, listen to a strange rooster with a raspy voice, named Rusty… was way beyond comprehension. To think they would listen to two Jazz Cats, play music the way that they did… is almost too funny to describe! And Jerome was the Giraffe - the chatty guy said weird things… all adlib.

When my daughters grew up Friendly has been replaced by “Fred Penner’s Place”. And the more popular Mr. Dressup and Sesame Street rocketed into the forefront. My girls loved the rapid action and bright colours of the new shows.

Friendly simply didn’t come out of his Castle anymore. There was no more gold boot and small village to see, no more harp playing in the back ground by a dedicated Harpist that played for the Friendly Giant, Rusty and Jerome. Rusty never brought anymore books out to look at a no more stories were told any longer.

Simple was replaced by multi action and multi plotted, colorful and bouncing personages.

Mr. Dressup wasn’t bouncing but he had the most amazing Tickle Trunk.

But when Oscar the Grouch popped out of a garbage can, Big Bird came strolling by, and Elmo and Miss Piggy showed up… the Big Ole Giant couldn’t compete.

I went to YouTube and found a number of Videos of Friendly and watched the programs again. The harp playing and the melody was so familiar. I was whisked back in time… wow! (The Links are below)

Flash forward to 2012…
This past week I was in a production meeting for Misty Hollow and the Crop Circles new partnership.

Murray Lincoln, creator and owner of Misty Hollow, is now drawing the houses and people that live in Misty Hollow. In some ways it feels and seems like 1958 again. And the most uncool thing that I could ever have done in High School… has now become the coolest thing to ever happen.

I wasn’t sure when this all began… but now I am… Misty Hollow used to have a guy by the name of Friendly living near by… and he used to welcome people and creatures from Misty Hollow into his Big Castle.

Why is Misty Hollow beginning to be so popular now? Well most of the customers used to sit in the little chair, or the rocking chair, or the other little bigger chair for two to curl up in… and then the big open hand said goodbye at the end…

That was way back when simple things were amazing.

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/ 

Resource:
The Friendly Giant
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Friendly_Giant

Intro to the program
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Vm2-JUldNw

A Sample of the programs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDigdsYNA1E

The Beginning and Ending
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV2P6P4p6Hg&feature=related