May 2022 Newsletter
Perhaps I should not have taken a month off from my newsletters. The last 6o days have been nothing short of ghastly. Ukraine, baby formula, mass shootings, gas prices…Need I go on?
How about I talk a bit about something uplifting, that is not from some nitwit talking head?
As I sit here, Tropical Storm Agatha has socked us in with the threat of lots of rain (9 inches or more predicted) and high winds. So, instead of my normal run, I opted for our exercise bike and watched a TV show that I have grown to love, as it was recommended to me by my four grandchildren, ages 3-8. It provides inspiration and instruction valuable for all ages and could not possibly be offensive to anyone.
“Bluey” is an Australian cartoon series about a family of anthropomorphized dogs. (Like the big word?) The four dogs, parents and two young girls, live in a suburban house and speak with obvious Australian accents and vocabulary. The episodes last about six minutes each and focus on some game or other interaction that they have with one other or their friends.
The genius of these episodes is how they show the children learning to get along and play with one another and how the parents can play too, all the while imparting gentle lessons to their children.
Although humorous, “Bluey” is not written to elicit laughs. And our grandchildren all latched onto it and soak it in, so much so that one day I was lying on the floor when my grandson and his sister spontaneously began to reenact an episode where the two children, Bluey and her sister Bingo become doctor and nurse to treat their father who claimed to have a stomach ache.
Like the characters in the episode entitled “Hospital”, the two of them poked me, claiming to be giving me shots, examined a piece of paper (supposedly an Xray), and announced that I had a cat in my belly that had gotten in there by chasing a mouse, which also resided there. Then, like the cartoon, my granddaughter pretended to hold cheese over my mouth, which was enthusiastically pried open by her brother, to lure the mouse out. This, of course, then resulted in the cat coming out to chase the mouse. I then received several more shots (pokes with a wooden block), for reasons unknown. All the while I am helplessly laughing at their remarkable memories and attention to detail, having seen and recalled the episode.
Then, a few months later, while visiting our other granddaughters, I learned that they too, loved “Bluey”. When their mother called out to them to pick up their toys before dinner, I was pleasantly surprised when I heard the younger one call out “All right peasants, back to work!” Her older sister promptly responded, “Yes, my Lord.”
I immediately recognized that as a direct quote from the father in “Bluey” in an episode where he was playing the part of a king. Once again, I was taken with the level of attention that the two girls, who had played right along, had given to this cartoon.
You may ask, “so what is the takeaway?”
At ground level, we have a TV series that every child and every adult who deals with children can learn something important and fun from. Watching it with the children is excellent!
For me, there was an additional gift. A chance to see something that had an agenda that was pure, simple, good, and magnanimous (not self-serving). The writers of this show are not pushing anything on anyone that shouldn’t be there anyway. When was the last time you witnessed that?
And from this show, if something doesn’t go your way you can just say “Oh, biscuits!”
Take care, all!
P.S. “Bluey” is on Disney Plus. It may be accessible elsewhere, but I don’t have access to a twelve-year-old to show me where it is.