Oh, Davey!

When I was a kid, my siblings and I spent each Sunday morning, hours before church, watching Popeye cartoons.  We all preferred Looney Toons and the comic stylings of Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, but these were the days before cable television, and Bugs and pals were only offered on Saturdays.  Popeye was alright, but that Olive Oyl drove me CRAZY!!  She was constantly shunning poor Popeye for big, ugly Brutus, then squealing for him to save her when Brutus got fresh.  Pathetic.

After the Popeye hour ended, the familiar strains of "A Mighty Fortress is our God" could be heard, signaling the start of the upcoming program, Davey and Goliath.

Davey and Goliath was a Christian program for children featuring old-school, low budget, stop-animation.  It's been a very long time since I've seen this show, so bear with me as I try to re-create it for you.  The title characters included young Davey Hansen and his trusty canine companion, Goliath.  Goliath, who served as Davey's conscience, could actually speak, but only Davey could hear him.  Whenever Davey misbehaved, Goliath would respond in his low, bass voice, "Oh, Da-vey!!"

Davey was constantly learning valuable lessons, often choosing to do the right thing (after a little Goliath prodding) when faced with a tough challenge.  I guess I was five or six when we first started watching this show, and I must tell you, even at that young age, I knew I could never be as good and Christian as Davey.  The kid was AMAZING!!

For instance, there was an episode involving a big festival in the local park, and the first few children to arrive would all receive a free BALLOON!! (Yes, these were simpler times!) Davey was very excited and left his house early in order to claim his precious, helium-filled prize.  But on the way, he happens upon a little girl who has fallen while riding in her wagon and has hurt herself.  Even though he is close enough to the park to hear the other children's delighted squeals (and balloon-receiving festivities), Davey chooses to skip the park and instead spends the afternoon helping the little girl find her way home.

Then there was the Christmas episode when Davey was all excited to have been chosen to portray one of the Wise Men at the church Christmas pageant.  He spends the entire show practicing his "We Three Kings" rendition with his fellow royal performers.  Yet, when he comes across a sad boy that has to spend the evening minding his father's Christmas tree stand, Davey hands over his golden costume, tells the boy that he'll watch the stand and to take his place in the Christmas pageant.

At the conclusion of BOTH of these episodes, Davey proclaims that doing these good deeds felt GREAT!! WAY better than performing in the pageant or receiving a silly balloon.  I admired Davey for doing the obvious "right thing," but my six year old brain had a hard time believing I would give up the chance to receive a free balloon (a frigging BALLOON for crying out loud!), and my already-evolving inner-show biz diva would NEVER have passed on an opportunity to shine at a Christmas pageant!  How, I pondered, did Davey DO it?!

Then there was the Easter episode. I know you'll think I'm joking when I tell you that this episode disturbed me so much, I still carry faint scars from it today, but it's the truth...

The special begins with Davey visiting his grandmother.  It's just a few days before Easter so he helps her bake a cake, and together they decorate it with icing chicks and bunnies.  Davey, of course, wants a piece as soon as they're finished, but Grandma laughs and insists they must wait for Easter Dinner.  "After dinner, I promise I'll cut you the biggest slice," she says.

Then they both traipse up to her attic.  It's filled with wonderful treasures - an old gramophone in which she places a record, winds it up and they giggle and dance along to an old-timey song.  In the corner sits a beat-up rocking horse.  "After Easter," she promises, "we'll bring that old horse downstairs and give him a nice new coat of paint!"  Davey is excited!

But the next day, Davey's father approaches him with some bad news:  Grandma has died.  No real explanation is provided, she's just gone. Heartbroken, Davey goes back to Grandma's empty, quiet house.  The Easter cake is still sitting on the kitchen counter.  "I'll cut you the biggest slice!"  Grandma's voice reverberates in his ear. He walks up to the attic and sees the old gramophone, then immediately hears the old tune and his Grandma's laughter.  He looks over at the rocking horse, "After Easter, we'll bring that old horse downstairs..."

Davey, now weeping, cries, "No we WON'T!! You're GONE!  I'll never see you again, EVER!!"

Now, of course, by the end of the episode, Davey attends an Easter service and learns that he'll be with his precious grandma again someday, in heaven.  He's smiling and happy.  The End.  Except that my little five year old heart didn't get that last, happy part.  It was still stuck back on that cake, sitting on the counter, and the rocking horse that they would never refurbish together.

It was the first time I realized that my precious Grandma Simmons would one day die and leave me.  The mere thought was inconceivable.  I cried and cried that morning, ran up to my room and tore open my dresser drawer.  I dug through my socks and T-shirts until I found it:  Grandma's handkerchief. She'd given it to me a few days before, so I pulled it out, held it up to my face and inhaled deeply.  There it was, Sweetheart soap and Balm Barr hand lotion, pure "Scent of Grandma Simmons!"  I brought me a little comfort, but I must tell you, that stupid Easter special WRECKED me!

Like my Grandma, I'm a pretty fierce holiday decorator.  At Christmastime, there's not a bare space on my walls, mantels or doorways that isn't adorned with boughs of holly and holiday trinkets.  Alan literally had to install a DIMMER SWITCH on our Christmas tree because I had attached too many strings of lights, and our holiday party guests were going blind!  I made a special shamrock dress to wear on St. Patrick's Day.  I decorate heart cookies for Valentine's Day. You get the idea...

But at Easter, I don't decorate.  I don't dye eggs.  No chocolate bunnies.  I'm just not feeling it.  Don't get me wrong, I whole-heartedly celebrate the religious implications of Easter Sunday, and I rejoice and sing my "Hallelujahs" over our risen Savior with the rest of my Christian brethren.  But the bunnies, chicks, and Easter baskets?  Not so much.  I blame that stupid Hansen kid.  Oh, Davey...

Thanks for Reading!!