A seven year old’s greatest moments in television.

​     There are moments in television that no one will ever forget. When they finally told us that Kristin Shepard shot JR was a big one. The last episode of M.A.S.H. was another. 

     We lived for the cliffhanger episodes that were very common in the seventies and eighties. The great revelation was standard practice near the beginning of the next season. 

     I remember many of these moments, but there are two that I’ll never forget. They were very important to me. I could identify with them. 

     A big part of my morning routine was the Janie show. Janie Woods Hodge was the star of the show. It was a variety show in which she sang, visited with children, and played cartoons. 

     Each morning she would show drawings that were sent in by viewers. Why do I remember this so vividly that I can see a white house with green grass, a tree, the sun above it, and a bird in the sky?  The name Charley Sutton was scrawled in the handwriting of a seven year old. 

     In the years before Facebook and TikTok, being recognized as an artist on the Janie show was better than a million followers. 

     That was the first recognition of Charley Sutton. The second moment of television history was the recognition of a town in Miami county. 

     Each week the variety show, Hee Haw, would salute an American town. You always hear about Chicago, Vegas, Hollywood,or New York, but most people have never heard of Tin Cup, Indiana. Unless, of course, you were watching Hee Haw when they saluted it. 

     Those two moments are some of the greatest moments in television to a seven year old. That and a little tune that ends with BOLOGNA.