A couple of years ago I first noticed the writing of Kenneth Avery, our guest writer today. He reads my work too. He told me he'd be my friend for life, which is always a pretty nice thing to know, and I enjoy his thoughtful, wide-ranging work on HubPages. Not that he really needed to be my friend for life, considering he has at least 1400 other fans! That's not surprising because he's a sweet guy and very likable. |
He's a prolific writer. One of his articles told of why he dreamed of being a janitor when he was a child. It's a good example of why I can relate to his thinking a lot of the time.
As he is my friend for life, it was easy to persuade him to write a little story about his life, especially for me. 'Cause you're all my friends too (and I love that!) I'm sharing it with you.
Captain Marvel: Being who you ARE still counts with me!
I grew up in the age of television. Until I was six, my family's only source of entertainment was a Wizard brand radio that my dad worked several hard hours to purchase. Many nights I fell asleep with country music played on WSM Nashville. Priceless memories. In years to come, those priceless memories made way for a new set, all credit to my sister Doris, and husband Cal, who were living with us at the time. |
My noble self-sacrifice
She knew every children’s game from those brought from England with the Pilgrims to those taught by The King of Children’s Television, Captain Kangaroo.
I had to entertain her outside while I was missing the television shows that I loved.
Then on a Saturday morning, something tragic happened to my life that, while still in the formative stages and still affects me to this day.
I'm still not able to talk about it that much.
Dealing with life change
Mentor drove their RV and taught young Batson about life and how important manners are when dating a girl.
This is where it got complicated, and the life-changing event crept into my back like a highly-trained assassin from the Far East.
Turns out that when Batson and Mentor, heard of some type of evil somewhere in the area, Billy would step out of the RV as Mentor watched for onlookers, and yell, “Shazam!” after which, Billy was suddenly transformed into Captain Marvel.
Within a matter of minutes, so long evil.
I have always wondered why the show was called Shazam when Captain Marvel's Adventures would have seemed much better. Captain Marvel was played by Jackson Bostwick, who was always smiling to show off his perfectly-white teeth.
I had become accustomed to idolizing Bostwick as Captain Marvel, who would be out kicking evildoer’s butts. Then, one Saturday morning, Bostwick was replaced with this John Davey fella. For his Lou Costello physique, he was fine as Captain Marvel, so I learned to live with this change.
Are you good - or bad?
I cried to my mother, "Mother! I just saw Captain Marvel! He had a gun, and he shot at the police!"
I was inconsolable. Mother tried to understand.
In time to come, I learned what upset me. When I get to trust in a person behaving in a certain way, I feel comfortable. They might not always have behavior that I like, but at least I know what to expect.
I feel sensitive about children and the way they trust. I want adults to consider them, and their observant, all-seeing little eyes, before they decide to make changes that destroy their trust in many things.
I want them to know Captain Marvel will only be seen to do good things. That they can rely on that. And that some people they meet in life will never be like Captain Marvel.
Children need to know right from wrong. But they depend on adults to be behavioral role models.