My Taiwan Adventure

From 1983 to 1986 Mr. T delivered this now infamous line to television addicts everywhere in North America. The A-team was a staple of my television diet that included favorites like Magnum PI and Knight Rider. In a random web-surf today I found and downloaded the A-Team soundtrack. The nostalgia of the opening lines are almost too harsh to bear. The days of the electronic synthesizer coupled with exhuberant trumpets and screaming electric guitar are just a click away.


I want to say more, to wax poetic about the hours that I spent in front of the television. The simple mindless happiness of easily wound-up plots in the Cosby show where Leo learns the value of a dollar as Mr. Huxtable charges him rent in Monopoly money were a valuable lesson in growing up. Okay, they weren't. But who could forget Natalie and Joe from Facts of Life? Or the Fonze from Happy Days?



I am caught up in random searches for a bit of my childhood hours. I stumble across places like tv land where you can sing your heart out to the theme songs from old television shows. I'm tapping my foot to the Happy Days lyrics as my current life rolls by unnoticed in the grey haze of evening. Green Acres is only a half inch of mouse space away. And I couldn't resist listening to the Jeffersons "We're moving on up..." It was worth listening to just for the memories it stirred up.



I have a terrible grin on my face of horrified fascination by how we spend our time. I've just discovered that the internet is my new mellenium replacement for that television. It's almost frightening how we allow technology rule our lives. No wonder we come up with plots for movies that feature robots or suddenly sentient toasters trying to rule the world. Don't they already?

And you know what? Someone out there is making money on just my kind of sentimentalism. Last Christmas even I spent money on the retro games joystick that now replaces the old clunky Atari system. My brother and I really enjoyed that hour of entertainment on Christmas playing classic Pac-Man and Pole Position. Now you can get boxed DVD sets of favorite television shows from the 80's and *gasp* 90's. Soon someone will be repackaging my whole childhood in a muesum. I'm starting to feel like a grown-up. Maybe it's all this working with children that is making me wake up to my real age.

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