Friday, August 25, 2023

We Welcome Margaret Sizemore Clark:

Thanks for checking out my blog post! 

I was born in Ridgecrest, CA in 1954, and am the middle of six children.  My parents worked for the Navy as civil servants, having arrived at China Lake in 1950, and all six of us graduated from the same high school.

   I attended grade school on the base until second grade when we moved out to the town of Ridgecrest.  I went to junior high and high school there, graduating in 1972, then went to West Hills Junior College in Coalinga, CA where I met my future husband.  After receiving my AA degree, I transferred to Cal State Bakersfield for a year, then transferred again to Cal State University, Fresno where I earned a BA in History and a teaching credential.

   We had three children and after they were established in school, I went back to college in 1998 to earn my multiple subject credential. I taught Kindergarten, First, and Second grades for 16 years, then retired in 2014.  I became a substitute teacher and when my husband retired, we moved to Washington State where we enjoy traveling and spending time with two of our five grandchildren.

Writing…and Receiving a Letter


Something that has sadly gone by the wayside with the advent of electronic mail and the cell phone is the hand-written, newsy letter. It might have been that letter from home that would catch one up with all the happenings.  Or it may be a letter from that one far away who is filling you in on all the events and happenings in their part of the world.


   Was there a pen pal in your past?  I can remember having a pen pal who lived in Ireland.  I looked forward to her letters and the stamp on the envelope that didn’t look like the stamps we had here in the US.  What a thrill to go to the mailbox and find something addressed just to me!  


   After graduating high school, I went away to a junior college that was four hours from where my family lived.  I did not have the luxury of having a car like many of the other kids had, so being able to go home on a weekend was not an option.  And, like lots of other teenagers who leave home, homesickness was becoming a very real thing as the weeks passed without seeing my family. In those days long distance had a cost to it, the call had to be made during certain hours, and it had to be initiated from a payphone since cell phones were non-existent and even having your own rotary-dial phone in your dorm room was unheard of.  


   Now, I must come clean on the reason for starting to write letters: I had a boyfriend “back home”. Ah yes, the angst of being away from him was the real motivation for writing long, newsy letters.  And since I’m being forthright, there were some letters with mushy stuff but nothing torrid or gushy, like love letters were portrayed in the movies. My letters were short to begin with and included details about my new roommate in the dorm, the classes I was taking, new people I had met, and other general topics.  He in turn wrote about the people in our town, his job, his family, and his beloved car that he was working on.  As my letters became a little longer, I started embellishing them with little drawings and stickers which I added to the pages inside the envelope and to the outside as well.  This was when my addiction to paper began; If I had the means I should have invested in Hallmark because this was the beginning of a lifelong pattern that still hasn’t ended!  I started looking for cute stationery with pictures on the pages, or tablets that featured several different colored papers and had matching envelopes (that were sold separately.) I dropped into the local Hallmark store about once a week to see what was new, and I purchased so many stickers that I had to start keeping them together them in a box so that I wouldn’t forget what I had available to me. There were also the cute little enclosures that I could slip into the envelope along with my letter. The possibilities were endless!


   Like a lot of long-distance relationships, my boyfriend and I eventually stopped writing to each other, but that didn’t end my letter-writing!  I had made good friends at college so when the summer came and everyone went home, letters started going back and forth.  Every day I would watch for our mail lady to come down the dirt road, stop at our mailbox, then move on.  I would run to the mailbox (partly out of anticipation of a letter from a friend, but mostly because we lived in the desert and the sand was HOT on my feet.  Shoes were for school!)  The box was yanked open and the mail pulled out.  There was a quick return run to the house where the mail was gone through and I would scan it for familiar handwriting.  If I happened to receive a letter that day, I would savor its contents in the privacy of my bedroom and take in all the details coming from the writer.  Then I would get out my boxes of stationery and would immediately compose a response so that it could be mailed the next day.


   Many years later a special friend from college with whom I had kept in contact related to me how she had always looked forward to my letters and the envelopes in which they had arrived.  The part she remembered even more clearly were the pages inside that shared our lives after we left school.  The letters gave way to phone calls, and even those became fewer as we became “busy” with children and careers.  This year I lost that friend to cancer but I have several of her cards and letters she sent over the years, so I still have a part of her with me.  


   Today communication is so easy!  Pick up the phone and call any time of the day.  Send a text (with a picture to boot) whenever you feel like it.  Write an email and receive an immediate response…or not.  But there are still those times when I feel like writing a good, old-fashioned, hand-written letter complete with illustrations and stickers.  It’s like finding an old friend that’s just been waiting for me to take the time to sit down and let the words flow.


   Give letter-writing a try sometime!  It can be therapeutic and it reminds the recipient you were thinking of them in a special way.

 

Margaret

@MargaretSizemoreClark


Tuesday, August 1, 2023

 AUGUST 2023

- Around the World With Ivan Tors -
By Rev Protodeacon George A. Haloulakos

The dog days of August is an opportunity to take a trip to far away places in another time through the magic of the classic TV programs and films of Ivan Tors.  Today's television viewers are immediately able to identify and connect the names of well known producers, screenwriters and/or directors with a specific genre, especially since the 1980s.  Two such examples are Donald Bellisario ("Magnum P.I.," "Quantum Leap," "JAG" and "NCIS") and Dick Wolf (the "Law and Order" franchise).  However, long before Messrs Bellisario and Wolf became household names, viewers of both classic film and television flocked to theaters or gathered in their living rooms to watch the programs of Ivan Tors, who is inextricably connected with emphasizing non-violent but exciting science fiction, underwater adventures and stories involving animals.  A partial list of classic Ivan Tors TV shows reads like a roll of honor for fun family fare:  "Sea Hunt" (1958-1961) starring Lloyd Bridges, "Flipper" (1964-1967), "Gentle Ben" (1967-1969), "Cowboy in Africa" (1967-1968) featuring Chuck Connors and "Daktari" (1966-1969).


"Sea Hunt" helped popularize the sport of scuba diving while the animal themed "Flipper" (dolphins) and "Gentle Ben" (bears) helped raise awareness about the innate intelligence in the animal kingdom.  "Daktari" and "Cowboy in Africa" were both set in Africa while providing a fusion of exotic animals, adventure and the importance of preservation of rare species.  The popularity of these TV shows arose from their big screen success as Mr Tors would typically make a film first, and then develop a show from that film. This double-play combination of big screen films that translated into successful TV series proved to be a financial bonanza.  A partial list of these films makes the connection with their corresponding TV series self evident: "Flipper" (1963), "Flipper's New Adventure" (1964), "Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion" (1965), "Gentle Giant" (1967) and "Africa Texas Style" (1967).  The combined success on both the big and small screens helped create unforgettable animal characters -- Flipper the Dolphin, Ben the American Black Bear, Clarence the Lion and Judy the Chimpanzee -- that are indelibly framed in the memories of Baby Boomers who were avid movie goers while coming of age watching the classic TV shows of the 1960s. 


Mr Tors created programs that were popular with both adults and children.  Indeed, they were excellent shows that were watched by the entire family, especially during prime time.  Moreover, the big screen films were events that parents could enjoy with their children as there was just the right balance between serious but non-violent themes.  Since most of the stories involved animals, this made them all the more endearing.  Mr Tors not only had a keen sense of delivering high quality content that was entertaining for all ages, but he was a successful entrepreneur.  He developed a sustainable business model based on syndication of his different programs when there were limited spots on the major TV networks.  This has now become more commonplace, especially with the availability of streaming.  But to be able to reach mass market audiences worldwide without the major networks in the 1960s exemplifies true ingenuity.  The life of Ivan Tors (1916-1983) is a true American success story, and we would commend our Galaxy Nostalgia Network audience to learn more about this amazing person whose contributions span multiple generations.  Please share your thoughts about your favorite Ivan Tors film or TV show by posting to the GNN FACEBOOK page (and "liking" us when doing so) or write to us directly at: GalaxyMoonbeamNightSite@gmail.com