I was a war baby born shorty before Pearl Harbor

Posted By
Earleen Snider, United States, Looking back over 65 years

Tomorrow is my 65th birthday, April 21. As the saying goes, where has time gone. I was a war baby born shorty before Pearl Harbor.

My father signed up for the Navy as those were the days when patriotism ran high. I recall when I was around seven years old, my father coming home from work one evening and announcing to the family that he had heard of a radio being invented with pictures.

We were amazed and could hardly believe what we were hearing. Sure enough our neighbors soon had a big box that showed fuzzy black and white images of people moving around.

It was not too long before our family purchased a television and we children would sit and watch the still test pattern until the first show would come on. It was also a thrill to hear the "Star Spangled Banner" played as the few television stations would sign off the air for the night.

One of my favorite television shows as a young girl was "Winky Dink and You". Oh it was marvelous. One would mail in their order for a Winky Dink kit. This included a sheet of clear plastic that stuck to the screen and some crayons that we could use when need be. As the program progressed a story would be shown about Winky Dink and often we would be called upon to draw on the plastic that stuck to our screen to save the day.

Once I recall a bridge needing to be drawn so that Winky Dink could cross over. I believe the show was soon cancelled as there were concerns about children sitting too close to the television set and could be harmed. I never quite understood the reasoning for I loved my favorite television show in which I was called upon to interact. Those were the days.

Now my grandchildren have reality video games which makes me realize that my screen and crayon show was much like early man carving letters into stone. I miss those days, but then time marches on. Nothing stands still and I enjoy the new technology as much as anyone.