THE WALTONS

I find it funny that people seem to laugh when I admit to watching The Waltons on TV. It may have been a simple show, but with each episode, it confirms the notion that simple can also mean really really good.

I'm old enough to be an original viewer. While I was young, I could appreciate the family love and the educational storylines. Sometimes that story was quite easy - just treat people right. Other times it was a little more deep, like allowing the kids to make mistakes and learn from them.

Grandpa and John-Boy were the two characters that were most beloved, I believe. They both offered different ways to be impressed. One provided the wisdom of ageing and life experiences, the other learning through introduction of new things and situations. 

You had all the children, Mother and Father, Grandma and Grandpa, give a little different perspective for everyone. From the youngest to the oldest, there's a reminder for anyone's childhood. 

Now, not all kids have a good start out in the real world. There's some horrifics stories you here about abuse, bad parenting, or completely absent Mother and Father. I can't imagine the difficulties some children begin their life with. With those challenges, hopefully that youngster can overcome and still flourish, but the odds are not in their favor. The Waltons are a reminder that a close family and a loving atmosphere can exist, even if only for an hour.

I can't count the number of times tears came at the end of an episode, either through happiness or deep sadness for the loss that a fictitious character on TV had. While that may seem stupid to some, it reflects a closeness to those figures that was so easy to have.

If I had to rate the purchases in 2020 from best to worst, obtaining The Waltons complete series on DVD certainly ranks in the top five for the amount of Joy it brings on an almost daily basis. For a few minutes, I can be taken back to when I was still an innocent boy, laying on the floor, watching the Walton family, and wishing mine was as close.