Smokin' Cigarettes and watchin' Cap'n Ka ngaroo..

“Yup, it's the end of an era...

TV's 'Captain Kangaroo,' Bob Keeshan, dead

Bunny Rabbit, Mr. Moose and Mr. Greejeans to be pallbearers.”

“I read about that and I'm sad...I started so many morning as a child watching the Cap'n...

For years, even as an adult, the first tune to go through my head when I woke up in the morning was the theme to his show...



<snif>”

“Aw man! The captain was definitely from my era. I grew up with that show. RIP, Captain K!”

“The title you picked for the thread weirded me out too. I had that song in my mind for two straight days this week...”

“Whoaaaa, Treebeard...

I could probably look it up, but it had some great lines-
"...Counting flowers on the wall...

...playing solitaire 'til, with a deck of 51..."

wasn't it the Statler Bros.?”

“I was born one year before that show started. I DID grow up with the Capt., Bunny Rabbit, Dancing Bear, Mr. Moose, & Mr. Green Jeans.

I loved the thousands of ping pong balls falling from the ceiling.

He and Mr. Rogers made some good kids shows.

He will be missed by all us ol' farts.”

“*'til dawn*”

“You know what, Aero. I always hate to admit to being stumped on any music question. But, I have been having such a mental block with this song, that I truthfully can't remember...”

“Yes, aero. Statler Brothers.

Those us of who grew up with Captain Kangaroo will have fond memories.

But I never really liked dancing bear.”

“I had to ask my bro. Just called him and he thinks you are right, my friend. The Statler Brothers. I always loved that song...”

“Flowers On the Wall

-Artists: The Statler Brothers
-peak Billboard position # 4 in 1966
-Words and Music by Lewis DeWitt

I keep hearin' you're concerned about my happiness
But all that thought you're givin' me is conscience I guess
If I was walkin' in your shoes, I wouldn't worry none
While you 'n' your friends are worried about me I'm havin' lots of fun

CHORUS
Countin' flowers on the wall
That don't bother me at all
Playin' solitaire till dawn with a deck of fifty-one
Smokin' cigarettes and watchin' Captain Kangaroo
Now don't tell me I've nothin' to do

Last night I dressed in tails, pretended I was on the town
As long as I can dream it's hard to slow this swinger down
So please don't give a thought to me, I'm really doin' fine
You can always find me here, I'm havin' quite a time

CHORUS

It's good to see you, I must go, I know I look a fright
Anyway my eyes are not accustomed to this light
And my shoes are not accustomed to this hard concrete
So I must go back to my room and make my day complete

CHORUS

Don't tell me I've nothin' to do”

“He was still alive?

Didn't Mr. Green Jeans check out a while ago?

Please tell me Mr. Moose is still alive!”

“Dang! Chili beat me!”

“Good one, guys. Now, I will have to find a copy of that song and play it in memory of the good captain...”

“Dang you just beat me to it, chili!

Actually it makes a good Trail Talk theme song.”

“Yeah, Mr Green Jeans went a few years ago, I believe...”

“Sorry Violin, I saw Mr. Moose's head on a lodge wall in Canada this summer....”

“Wahhhh!”

“oh geez, thannks for the bummer

I loved that show.

Long live the capn'”

“Equal to him, Ray Rayner died yesterday. Those of us in the greater Chicago area, watched both of 'em.”

“Captain Kangaroo was THE MAN.”

“Did the clock have a name????”

“No, but it was always striking...”

“Wasn't the clock called "Grandfather Clock"? --I think so...”

“Will the funeral be sponsered by Schwin?”

“Yes Aero....( I can't think.....I just got off work....)

Sooo cute Bit...”

“Yeah, Schwinn! With the bell!

Tom Terrifc and his dog Manfred were cartoon staples of the show; the kid with the funnel for a hat that was his "thinking cap". I see the resemblence to our own Tom T.”

“Did you hear Lee Marvin's story on Johnny Carson years ago? Keesham saved his butt on a beach landing battle in the South Pacific in WWII. (If I recall all this correctly.)”

“Try again shawn.”

“Ah shucks, that sucks! Looks like I have to step up and take on the additional burden of gratifying the little ones.”

“Curiouser and Curiouser. I heard that story recently on TV.”

“I remember watching the Captain on many mornings. I loved that program.”

“Captain Crunch will never die. He just goes stale.”

“I do feel SAD, long live memories of the Captain, but i seriously thought he was about 76 when i was 6, oh say 36 years ago, I feel terrible for thinking that”

“Let's not forget the Banana Man.
He never spoke but made "oooo's" and "aahh's" while pulling endless strings of bananas from pockets of his huge coat.

Today's article said that Keeshan was Clarabelle(hey, sarabelle!) on the Howdy Doody Show for five years before his own show.

The Howdy Doody Show was described as one with "no educational aspirations".

Keeshan was glad to have his own show and do more than blow a bycicle horn and squirt seltzer.

When I was a little kid we would crack ourselves up by singing;

"Its Howdy Doody Time
it isn't worth a dime
and as for Clarabelle
that clown can go to HELL"”

“

Mr. Green Jeans, in his prime.

(Hugh 'Lumpy' Brannum)”

“Mt. Everest 2004:

The grandson of TV’s Captain Kangaroo summits Everest

The grandson of TV’s Captain Kangaroo, 22-year-old Middlebury College student Britton Keeshan became the youngest person in history to complete the Seven Summits by climbing the tallest peak on seven continents.

A native of Greenwich, Con., Keeshan summited Everest just after 9 am local time. He was one of 17 climbers, guides and Sherpas in the AAI expedition to summit. This feat broke the 2-year-old record held by Japan’s Atsushi Yamada, who was 23 when he completed the Seven Summits. However Keeshan may not hold the record for long. Twenty-two-year-old Dan Lochner beat Keeshan to the top of Everest last week and is headed to Vinson Massif in Antarctica in November.

more...”

“If you dropped a ping-pong ball on someone from that high, I bet it would hurt.”

“Flippin' Captain Kangaroo trust-fund baby!

Get a job Britton!”

“Story in local paper about Captain Kangaroo's stuff in an auction.

"Bidding for a Bit of Capt. Kangaroo

Fans Flock to Estate Auction of Bob Keeshan"”

“This thread should stay towards the top, just cuzz of the title.



I keep hearin' you're concerned about my happiness
But all that thought you're givin' me is conscience I guess
If I was walkin' in your shoes, I wouldn't worry none
While you 'n' your friends are worried about me I'm havin' lots of fun

CHORUS
Countin' flowers on the wall
That don't bother me at all
Playin' solitaire till dawn with a deck of fifty-one
Smokin' cigarettes and watchin' Captain Kangaroo
Now don't tell me I've nothin' to do

Last night I dressed in tails, pretended I was on the town
As long as I can dream it's hard to slow this swinger down
So please don't give a thought to me, I'm really doin' fine
You can always find me here, I'm havin' quite a time

CHORUS

It's good to see you, I must go, I know I look a fright
Anyway my eyes are not accustomed to this light
And my shoes are not accustomed to this hard concrete
So I must go back to my room and make my day complete

CHORUS

Don't tell me I've nothin' to do”

“The latest release that I'm aware of on that song is Eric Heatherly's remake of what I think was the Statler Bros. first recording of "Flowers On The Wall". I'm not sure which I prefer, but they're both awesome.”

“Where is Aero anyway? He's been awfully quiet.”

“Gotta love that song!!!”

“Ok, Limpy. I think I will download it and play it on my show Saturday...”

“aero is just awful.....quiet or not”

“*cough, cough*I've just crawled out of my hole- it's been bitterly cold here.

I miss the Captain!”

“Hey.... what happened to my link? TT screwed it up for me. Must be because it was a copyrighted song?”

“I keep hearin' your concern about my happiness

But all that thought you've given me is, conscience I guess

If I were walkin' in your shoes, I wouldn't worry none

While you and your friends are worryin''bout me, I'm havin'lots of fun


Countin' flowers on the wall, that don't bother me at all

Playin' solitaire 'til dawn, with a deck of fifty-one

Smokin' cigarettes and watchin' Captain Kangaroo

Now don't tell me

I've nothin' to do


Last night I dressed in tails, pretended I was on the town

As long as I can dream it's hard to slow this swinger down

So please don't give a thought to me, I'm really doin' fine

You can always find me here and havin' quite a time


Countin' flowers on the wall, that don't bother me at all

Playin' solitaire 'til dawn, with a deck of fifty-one

Smokin' cigarettes and watchin' Captain Kangaroo

Now don't tell me

I've nothin' to do


It's good to see you, I must go, I know I look a fright

Anyway, my eyes are not accustomed to this light

And my shoes are not accustomed to this hard concrete

So I must go back to my room and make my day complete

Countin' flowers on the wall, that don't bother me at all

Playin' solitaire 'til dawn, with a deck of fifty-one

Smokin' cigarettes and watchin' Captain Kangaroo

Now don't tell me

I've nothin' to do

I've nothin' to do”

“

The front page of the old Wisconsin News on July 14, 1933, is dominated by three large photos showing Hubert Albert smoking his little brains out.

It was newsworthy because he was 5 years old at the time. The accompanying article says the Milwaukee boy started puffing at the age of 20 months - cigarettes, cigars, pipes, you name it. "He's not 6 years old yet, but he knows how to smoke - anything," the headline says.

Sally Wasinack thinks that headline today would be a bit different, "something involving social services and an arrest, perhaps."

Sally and her husband, Tim, recently found this old newspaper and others under the floorboards and inside the walls while remodeling their 100-year-old house in Hustisford.

Progress on the renovation stopped as they began reading articles, including the one about two Milwaukee men divorcing their wives for refusing to cook for them.
[...]
Sally was dumbfounded by a comment Hubert's mother made to the reporter: "He wanted to smoke, so we let him. We thought he'd get sick when he first smoked, but he fooled us. He'd rather smoke than eat candy or ice cream."
[...]

http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/jun05/336310.asp”