In the Mood for Turner Classic Movies

I had two ways to escape when I was a teenager, books and movies. Back in my day we didn’t have cable channels like Turner Classic Movies. Yes, cable television was around but my Dad scoffed at the idea of paying for television when we got seven perfectly good channels at no cost. UHF channels were wonderful for watching older movies and I became hooked. Books and movies helped me forget that I wasn’t a popular girl, a sporty girl or even considered a pretty girl. Bullying was part of life back in the 70s. You didn’t have advocates to help fix things. You merely suffered in silence and prayed to make it to graduation day.

As an adult, you can bet that cable was in every place I lived. Through the years, I’d lament about wanting channels dedicated to old movies as well as old TV shows like Marcus Welby M.D., The Monkees, The Brady Bunch etc. I’m so thankful to be living in an age when demand for older shows and movies warrants new cable channels and streaming services.

When it comes to movies though, Turner Classic Movie channel is my favorite and I can spend an entire day watching what they offer. Today has been one of those days because it’s been raining and my stomach has been a little off, so I curled up on the couch and tuned in to watch The Glenn Miller Story. I love the music of the 30s and 40s. It’s something that has passed down to my youngest son. Since he was a kid, he’s 27 now, he’d jump right in if he heard me humming a few bars of a Glenn Miller hit, or a song from Marth and the Vandellas. In fact my middle son is the same. I can start singing something from the 40s, 50s, or 60s and he’ll harmonize with me. They may not have inherited my love of reading but they enjoy classic music and movies like their mama.

Here’s a little Glenn Miller for your listening pleasure.

I’m off to watch more Jimmy Stewart in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, a 1962 western/drama also starring John Wayne, Lee Marvin and Vera Miles.