Grandkids are here for the weekend. Ollie is 12 going on 17, Gabe is 8 going on 12, and holy MOLY time is flying!!\u00a0 We are horrible grandparents:\u00a0 we buy them disgusting things like milkshakes on the way to our house, and then we torture them further by allowing them to play video games until 9 PM.\u00a0 Then it’s time to brush teeth and settle in for our traditional ritual of…<\/p>\n
CARTOONS!!<\/p>\n
And yes, for those of you who may be concerned, yes, they are<\/strong><\/em> required to put the video games down for several hours at a time and do really weird things like read books.\u00a0 Ollie is pretty accomplished at reading; but Gabe is still learning so I decided to have a little fun with him tonight.\u00a0\u00a0 He was holding my Beautiful Girlfriend’s iPad, to which I can send messages from my phone.\u00a0 While he was exploring the various apps I began to send him messages.\u00a0 He very much enjoyed my surprising texts, a few examples of which are:<\/p>\n “Gabriel smells really bad.”<\/p>\n “I’m trying to lick my eyebrows.”<\/p>\n “Do not try to sniff the couch, it may bite you.”<\/p>\n “If I put potatoes in my ears, it may sound like potato chips.\u00a0 Then my ears will be crunchy.”<\/p>\n “My legs are made of vanilla chicken worms.”\u00a0 And of course,<\/p>\n “My nose is full of bedroom furniture.”<\/p>\n Gabe was able to read all these with very little coaching; and a hearty giggle erupted with the completion of each sentence.\u00a0 Then it was time for The Brushing of the Teeth and The Going to the Bathroom; followed by funny videos.<\/p>\n We’re not talking Sponge Bob or Minions either… no no. Papa (that’s me) goes for the good old fashioned cartoons that were around long before computer animation. Superman. Popeye. Betty Boop. Gabe has become hopelessly hooked on Chip and Dale.\u00a0 Ollie’s tastes are broadening as he matures.\u00a0 Both enjoy pretty much any old cartoon I manage to dig up from my childhood on YouTube.\u00a0 They have even had some good belly laughs from the likes of Laurel and Hardy.<\/p>\n Of course, slapstick and fake explosions were considered funny stuff back in \u201cthe old days.\u201d I really loved \u201cthe old days,\u201d primarily because I was able to live through many of them. Many of our favorite cartoons were made long before we <\/i><\/strong>were born; but these were the ones that were on the TV when we were kids. To some, the humor could perhaps be considered too violent. To us, the gags were outlandish and silly; and the cartoonists simply had a way of throwing them all together in impossible situations that made us laugh.<\/p>\n I like to interject a few funny music videos before the cartoons. The grandsons groan at first… Gabe asks, “is this a song??”\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>Then I explain that since Ollie is learning the saxophone, this is a really cool example of what he might be able to do someday.\u00a0 The example came in the form of a rather entertaining group of folks who call themselves the Leningrad Cowboys.\u00a0 Following the music, the cartoons must flow; and at least one Chip and Dale episode is mandatory viewing.\u00a0 I watch the time during all this and try to get their hineys to bed at 10 PM.\u00a0 Inevitably, when I announce that bedtime has arrived I hear the refrain, “one more Papa??\u00a0 Please??”\u00a0 And of course I give in.<\/p>\n So here are a few of our favorites for your enjoyment.\u00a0 If you want more, just say “one more Papa!!”\u00a0 and search on YouTube for something for your inner child.\u00a0 OK… here goes.<\/p>\n