Author: Kris Evans

One of the few memories I have of my father was when he and I would watch the Lawrence Welk Show together.  I was probably seven but I remember very clearly how much joy my father got from the whole experience of the show.  The hair and makeup were pure 60’s as well as the costumes.  I didn’t know they could make men’s suits in that color of orange or lemon but weekly they would appear.  The women, of course, complemented them with wearing  dresses of the same hue.  I loved watching that show with Dad maybe because of the music but most of all because of the enjoyment I got from watching my Dad sing along with each song.

My father left soon after and I had a spotty relationship from then on.  It was difficult for all the obvious reasons.  Later, when I was in my twenties, he came back into my life to live with me and we resumed watching the show together.  Our relationship was different as I was now an adult but I felt like his little girl when Lawrence Welk appeared.

I just watched Lawrence Welk the other night and though it was as garish and corny as I remembered I longed for the simplicity of good old fashioned entertainment.  It’s like the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson or the Carol Burnett Show.  They are still funny and entertaining to this day and no one gets killed.

I have to admit I do miss the purity and simplicity of some of the television I use to watch.  Maybe it’s because it brings me back to a time when life was not so complex.  I find myself gravitating to the fluff movies where there is no blood and they make me laugh.  Not the raunchy humor but humor that is clever without being distasteful.

I don’t consider myself old fashioned or conservative but I do consider myself nostalgic.  And I don’t apologize for being that way.  As I get older I want to remember when life was innocent and sweet and call upon that when life gets tough.  Then it will remind me that this too shall pass and remember how things have changed.  I have the choice to remember the beautiful sunrise in Bali or the breathtaking sunset right outside my door.  Or for that matter, Elizabeth Montgomery in Bewitched.