Now Those Were 'Good Times'

I love tv.People close to me can easily attest to this.Actually,most of us do.There's something captivating about being visually entertained with diverse programming.TV must rank amongst mankind's greatest inventions(along with planes & the internet,of course).

Now,I was about to write a completely different article this evening when i decided to quickly see what was airing on Hitv.I had subscribed to this cable company,in addition to my existing relationship with dstv,because of Multichoice's loss of exclusive English premiership rights this season.

Although there were no scheduled football matches,i was curious to see what else was showing on the non-sport channels.While channel flipping,i came across an episode of the hit 70s show 'Good times'.Yes,'Good times'.The show about a struggling,but hilarious african-american family that many grew up watching.Remember JJ,the tall,lanky clown of the house?And then there was Esther,the matriach & moral pillar of the Evans family who passed away in 1998.James(John Amos) was the father who kept having difficulty making ends meet for the family.Things were so bad that they were always eating oatmeal,to JJ's constant displeasure.This show educated me on oatmeal's(aka Quaker Oats) association with poverty in america.

I watched this episode on Hitv like i was in a trance.I hadn't been this glued since watching Beyonce perform at last year's Thisday concert.It felt so good to see their 'hot' first daughter again,mock the dodgy old-school clothes & hear those hilarious jokes.And of course,absorb the moral message which the scriptwriters unfailingly embedded in each episode,which simply was:no matter a family's bad situation,always stay strong,have faith, be united & morally grounded.

By the time the closing credits were being posted on my screen(there was no scrolling technology then),my eyes had started to water.Why?It had reminded me of those days,back in the 80s.The good old days when life was so much fun,dad was still very much around & all i seemingly had to do then was eat,play,sleep & do homework.Nostalgia is such a pleasant experience.It's like having a sweet dream or mentally escaping to a special place for some time.

I also enjoyed the show's theme song:''Good times..temporary layoff..good times..easy credit rip-offs..''

Wow.Those were good times indeed.