Lately I've been pretty nostalgic for movies and shows I loved as a kid, mostly, so I can brainwash my son into loving the same stuff his old man was into. Hey don't blame me every parent does it! One of those things was Davy Crockett. I was home over Christmas and my Mom found my old coonskin cap I got from Disney World when I was like 6 or so. I gave it to my son and now he only wears it when he watches the Buckskin pioneer. On a regular basis we sing the King of the Wild Frontier song and let me tell you he knows every word by heart. So it was kind of sad to hear that the actor who played one my beloved heroes as a kid had died.
Nathan watching Davy Crockett
Fess Parker, known for his roles as
Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone, died of natural causes, he was 85 years old. My wife found out about this while driving to the store with the little one in tow. She caught him singing the Davy Crockett song, at first she thought it was a little out of the blue, usually when he is with my wife he sings songs in Hebrew. So that's when she realized that the show on NPR she was listening to was doing a tribute to Fess Parker. They were interviewing folk who grew up as kids in the 50's and 60's and they were sharing their memories of Davy Crockett and of course singing the famous tune. (If you haven't seen the original Disney classic, you might have gotten a taste of it, if you listened closely, in
Back to the Future when Marty enters the cafe for the first time in 1955.)
Davy Crockett was my first glimpse at the history of this country and how legends were made. It also revealed the courage of a young country looking to expand while showing compassion to the native people whose land this truly was. Was Davy Crockett the real life savior of the Native Americans? That isn't so clear, it is a legend after all. But Fess Parker's Davy Crockett teaches a valuable lesson to kids of all shapes and sizes that all people deserve to be treated as human beings no matter who they are or what they look like. And if you give your word you better damn honor it.
Mr. Parker, You will always be remembered and Davy Crockett will be watched by current and future Marvins this I can guarantee.
Lately I've been pretty nostalgic for movies and shows I loved as a kid, mostly, so I can brainwash my son into loving the same stuff his old man was into. Hey don't blame me every parent does it! One of those things was Davy Crockett. I was home over Christmas and my Mom found my old coonskin cap I got from Disney World when I was like 6 or so. I gave it to my son and now he only wears it when he watches the Buckskin pioneer. On a regular basis we sing the King of the Wild Frontier song and let me tell you he knows every word by heart. So it was kind of sad to hear that the actor who played one my beloved heroes as a kid had died.
Nathan watching Davy Crockett
Davy Crockett was my first glimpse at the history of this country and how legends were made. It also revealed the courage of a young country looking to expand while showing compassion to the native people whose land this truly was. Was Davy Crockett the real life savior of the Native Americans? That isn't so clear, it is a legend after all. But Fess Parker's Davy Crockett teaches a valuable lesson to kids of all shapes and sizes that all people deserve to be treated as human beings no matter who they are or what they look like. And if you give your word you better damn honor it.
Mr. Parker, You will always be remembered and Davy Crockett will be watched by current and future Marvins this I can guarantee.
No comments:
Post a Comment