Does December 8th Make You Want To Cry Too?

Today is a sad day in the history of the entertainment world. It was on this date 43 years ago that John Lennon was shot and killed outside his New York apartment building.  

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Lennon, of course, gained his international fame as a member of “The Beatles”. This shooting impacted the world because not only was John a “Beatle”, but he also pushed for peace, love and harmony.  

I still remember where I was when I heard the news. I was in 4th grade and my mom had just picked me up from basketball practice. We were riding on this dark, two-lane country road in Glenwood N.C. when the news came over the radio.  

I didn’t know much about The Beatles at that point, but I knew who John Lennon was. And it’s one of the first times in my memory that I can recall a celebrity dying. I guess I thought rich, famous people were immune from that. 

There’s another sad fact about December 8th, in 1984 it was the last time a “new” episode of “Captain Kangaroo” aired on TV. The show ran on CBS for 29 years.  

In my early years this was my favorite TV show along with “Gilligans Island”.  

The Captain, Mr. Green Jeans and the rest of the crew were my childhood friends, even after something else came on TV.  

I learned to tell time by how much time was left in Captain Kangaroos hour. To say the show was impactful to millions of children is a major understatement.   

I still remember when I heard the show was going off the air, I was in junior high at that point, but felt a bit of mourning because of the affection I held and still hold for this show.  

Helping with social skills, and facing the challenges in a young kid's life, there were no better teachers for these things than this show in my opinion. There were other shows for kids including Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street, but none could touch “Captain Kangaroo” in my eyes.