An observation, in verse

A child is such an unformed soul --
Its world is bordered close
By limits that his parents set,
Not knowing that they chose

song, "A Perfect Place"

Have you ever dreamed of a perfect place (you could live)
A place where peace and gentleness were no disgrace (what would you give)
Well, everybody needs a place like that
But I say it isn’t a dream
A place where good times will never go flat
And friendship is all that it seems

Did you ever long for a perfect home (you could go)
A playroom that is bigger than the Astrodome (and fun could grow)
Want to find it? I can show you how
Yes you really can get there from here
The home you’re looking for is waiting now
Where welcome and joy cast out fear

If life is just a race for you
You’re running to nowhere
My father has a place for you
And you can join us there

My brother’s there -- he’s building you a room (to call your own)
And all your trials he’s weaving like a loom (to build your throne)
He’s got piercings and he did it for you
So you could graduate from this place
He’s using this song as a call for you
His love is something we can only call “grace”


Come join his caravan of life
You’ll find it quite exciting
Forget your worries, fears, and strife
He’ll find you where you’re hiding

And then you’ll go with me to that perfect place (I’ll see you there)
And you can’t help but have a joyful, smiling face (there’s joy to spare)
So take my hand upon the upward climb
We’ll hold each other up, so neither will fall
Don’t worry if you stumble, it is not a crime
And at the top the view pays for it all –
Now you won’t have to dream of a perfect place . . .

Ten Times as Big as a Man!

My three 1/2-year-old granddaughter, Jazra, has been educated well. When offered a choice between the original (1933) King Kong, the 1976 barfish remake, or Peter Jackson's stupid remake, she picks good ol' Obie's ape time after time.
The last time I was loading the disc, I was reminded of the King Kong that I grrew up with, a little cartoon by Rankin-Bass (I think) called King Kong, and based on the "high concept" pitch, "Let's redo Jonny Quest, only make Bandit be King Kong instead!"
Now, I don't know if it was pitched to ABC execs that way, but that's the concept in a nutshell. This boy, his scientist dad, and a friend travel the world, finding adventure, without leaving any discernable signs of piles of monkey poop.
My memories of the King Kong cartoon series consist of two parts. First, there was an episode set in Scotland, where Kong ended up wrestling the Loch Ness monster, which was a yellow-and-orange quadruped resembling none of the actual sightings of the beast.
Memory number two consists of the theme song, belted out by a guy whose singing voice was the gravelly equivalent of the speaking voice of Lurch on The Addams Family:
"King Kong, you know the name of
King Kong, you know the fame of
King Kong, ten times as big as a man!"

PS. Anybody remember Al Hirt? The 60s trumpet virtuoso? Well, he released an album called The Horn Meets the Hornet, where he covered various TV themes, such as Batman, Get Smart, and The Green Hornet (in fact the cover photo is of Hirt with Hornet star Van Johnson). One of the tracks on this LP is a thundering version of the King Kong theme.