Have You Been To The Magic Garden?

I took my children to see a performance that I used to watch when I was their age, and it brought back a sea of positive memories.  We saw The Magic Garden at a community theater.  I used to watch a TV show by the same name.  It was a highly successful regional children’s program that ran for 12 years.  I was there when it premiered, in 1972, when I was just five.

It was a wonderful show put on by two women who now celebrated their 60^th year of friendship.  They met in high school, in Brooklyn, where I grew up.  Carol an Paula are now nearing their 75^th birthdays but they can still perform.

The two folk singers reunited for a show where they replicate some of the things they used to do on television.  They even brought along Sherlock, a loveable squirrel puppet.  They talked about their TV show and interspersed clips throughout their performance.  It brought back good memories.

You know when you look back at something from the past that you used to think was so good but you later realize that nostalgia was trumping reality?  I didn’t feel that here.   In fact, I think my recollection of the past equals, what I saw today.  No false imaginations here.  There two women captured something that was unique and entertaining.  All that was missing was one of their side gags,  The Chuckle Patch, but due to legal issues, they couldn’t reenact it.

I’m not sure why the show only aired in the New York metro area on WPIX.  A show like that today would be syndicated, licensed, and turned into a movie.  But its humble roots lend a certain authenticity and purity to it.

So what do you do when you meet one of the heroes of your childhood?  You smile, shake their hands, and say thank you.  They live for the applause and they hear plenty of it today.

Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, Media Connect, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2014