Saturday Mornin’ Jammies Session

by Eva Pasco, author of "Underlying Notes"

During the early Sixties my sister and I would have assumed the position in front of the TV set in our den, sprawled out on the carpet in our jammies. I propped my back against the upholstery of our wagon wheel couch, while my sister snuggled inside her TV lounger close to the set. Early risers we would have already eaten our breakfast cereal before securing ringside seats, entertained by cartoons and the commercials targeting kids.

During the Sixties we sure got a lion’s share of "sugar, sugar" shored on each heaping tablespoon shoveled from of our bowls: Fruit Loops—who can forget Toucan Sam, the mascot for loopy loops. Alpha-Bits—"Loveable Truly," the mailman character on the box; my sister and I would slurp the milk from our spoon and spill the letters onto the table, seeing what words we could form. Sugar Frosted Flakes—Tony the Tiger attested, "They’re g-r-r-eat!" Cheerios—cheerioed and pip pipped by The Cheerios Kid, "He’s got Go-Power!" Trix Cereal—Trix the Rabbit always trying to get the fruit flavored cereal from kids when "Everyone knows Trix are for kids."

Speaking of "wabbits," strung out on sugar, reclining on the rug in our jammies, my sister and I amused ourselves by watching The Bugs Bunny Show cartoons. In 1960, most of the post-1948 Warner shorts with newly animated wraparounds debuted on ABC. After two seasons, we caught the reruns aired on Saturday mornings, though Bugsy would remain on network television for forty years. "Eh, what’s up doc?"

So, high on sugar we were mesmerized by a subversive streetwise guy talkin’ rapid-fire trash with a blend of Bronx and Brooklyn dialects, chomping on a carrot that could have very well been a cig. "Ain’t I a stinker?" Bugs Bunny got his kicks torturing authority figures such as Elmer Fudd and Porky Pig, and advocated violent retaliations. "Of course you realize, this means war."

True to character, Bugs Bunny was associated with selling a lot of powder—not blasting powder-- but Tang, "the drink of astronauts," by tricking Daffy into taking pop shots at his own relatives for a taste of Tang. "What a maroon!"

I’d like to say my sister and I emerged from the Sixties unscathed by over indulging in sugar and consorting with unsavory cartoon characters. Though each of us dressed up in our mother’s high heels, wore her wide-brimmed hats, and smoked candy cigarettes while pretending to be high society grande dames, we never inhaled.

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