by John Boguhn

Created on: August 18, 2009   Last Updated: August 19, 2009

Born in 1959, I am a member of that first generation of children for whom television was part of the daily routine. Captain Kangaroo and Rocketship 7 saw me off to school and the evening news joined us at the super table. Saturday mornings cartoons babysat me until my parents got up, letting them sleep in a little longer on weekends. We only had one TV and six stations to choose from (the three networks, PBS, one UHF channel and a Canadian pick up from across the lake), so everyone watched the same thing. And it was much the same at most of my friends' homes. TV was the common thread that ran through every household. The shows we watched become the subject of regular conversation. Reviewed on bus rides and re-enacted at lunch tables, the boob tube had a foothold in our day-to-day dialogue . And the language of the characters became the lexicon for my generation. " Whatchoo talkin' bout, Willis?" " Dy-no-mite!" " Come on down!" " Hereee's Johnny!" Television left its imprint everywhere.

It was Happy Days that gave us the lines like, " sit on it and what a nerd," and of coarse, "Ayyy..." But they were just following tradition. How many remember Ralph Kramden and his rant, " to the moon Alice," or " Alice you're the greatest!" They become the catch phrases that pasted themselves to the pattern boards in our brain. Jackie Gleason and the Honeymooners are part of American culture; and his, "Hamana-hamana-hamana," and Art Carney's, " Hey Ralphie Boy" are part of the language they have generated.

Words we speak to this day, even when we don't know were they came from.

As a nation we love television; especially as children. I wish I had a dime for every time as a kid one of my friends greeted me with, "Ah grasshopper", then took their best Kung Fu stands. And the better that week's episode the more times I heard it. TV hero's gave us some of the best, if not dumbest quotes. Consider, "To the Batcave," or " Holy Moly Batman." Thank you Batman & Robin, and 60's TV. You new Spiderman was in danger when you heard him say, "my spidy sense is tingling." Let's not forget the man of steel. He's been handing down the one liners on the tube since the 50's. Who can forget, "Up Up and Away," Of coarse there was the script that started every episode, " Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound... look in the sky; it's a bird, it's a plane it's superman." Even now it makes me laugh a little just writing it.

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