QUARANTINE BLOG # 56

May 25, 2020

👉  Before we play our first TV game show, I want to take one more look at the Westerns, and tell you about one who was my favorite back when I was a young buckaroo – William “Hopalong” Cassidy.

Hopalong Cassidy first appeared in 1904 in a series of short stories and novels written by Clarance E. Mulford.  In his early writings, Mulford portrayed the character as rude, dangerous, and rough-talking.  He had a wooden leg which caused him to walk with a little “hop,” hence the nickname.  Hopalong went to the silver screen in 1935 portrayed by William Boyd.  In the movies Hopalong Cassidy was transformed into a clean-cut, sarsaparilla-drinking hero.  A bullet wound produced the namesake “hop.”

Sixty-six “Hoppies” were produced and distributed first by Paramount Pictures and later by United Artists.  When they tired of the franchise, William Boyd bought the rights to the character, and eventually took Hopalong to television.  On June 24, 1949, Hopalong Cassidy became the first network Western television series. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD5pZVTC3x4&list=PL6UfctxfSOoFhi31aufCtQQfbzUw94WR1 The show was broadcast by NBC.

The popular song, “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” features Hopalong Cassidy:

“A pair of Hopalong boots and a pistol that shoots
Is the wish of Barney and Ben
Dolls that’ll talk and will go for a walk
Is the hope of Janice and Jen
And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again.”

Boyd controlled all merchandising rights and eventually earned millions of dollars portraying the black clad hero (when he did a public appearance, his contracts always said that children would be admitted without charge).  In 1950, Hopalong Cassidy was featured on the first lunch box to bear an

image, and sales of Aladdin Industries lunch boxes to jump from 50,000 units to 600,000 units per year.  More than 100 companies that year manufactured $70 million of Hopalong Cassidy products, including children’s dinnerware, pillows, roller skates, soap, Timex wristwatches, and pocket knives.

One of Hopalong Cassidy’s biggest fans wore a replica outfit of his hero which he received as a Christmas present in 1952.

👉  I almost forgot – there are only 7 more months until Christmas.  Amazon could break all records this year, and UPS and the other delivery services could be deluged with deliveries.

👉  To paraphrase David’s Psalm 122 verse 1, “I will be glad when they say unto me, ‘Let us go into the House of the Lord.’”

Many churches have opened their doors and welcomed worshipers wearing masks and practicing social distancing.  In the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church, Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson and her cabinet have directed churches to wait until late June before once again gathering together, following the directions of Hebrews 10:25 (“Don’t stop meeting together with other believers,” but then they didn’t have coronavirus to contend with, just the Roman empire).

No one is more ready to be once again in God’s House than I am, but as I’ve written often in this Quarantine Blog, reopening too soon could have dire consequences.  While grocery shopping and picking up prescriptions, early on I noticed an increase in the number of mask wearers, but in the last couple of weeks those numbers are going back down.  This pandemic is not over, and experts are cautioning a relapse could occur if we stop being cautious and careful in our movements.

Germany has allowed religious services for weeks now, and news out of Frankfurt reports that 40 churchgoers became infected with the coronavirus during a service at a Baptist church in that city.

Wladimir Pritzkau, a leader of the parish said, “We followed all the rules.”

👉  It has been suggested that I am older than dirt, and if not that old, that at least  Methuselah and I were on the same page in the high school year book.  For instance, I am still heard to say, “righteous” if something was fantastic.  As a teenager we called the local drive-in movie theater a “passion pit.”  I had friends who would “race for pink slips” and they weren’t wearing pale red ladies undergarments – the pink slip was the title to your car – the winner had two cars and the loser walked home.  “Bad” was awesome, and “bug out” was to leave in a hurry.

So it may be easily understood why I have trouble with today’s slang.  I hear my grandkids say something is “snatched” and I think it’s stolen, but they mean “someone is wearing something that looks really good.”  Another for instance, “lit” doesn’t mean you are striking a match and lighting a fire (or drunk as it was in my youth); it is an adjective to describe when something’s amazing, exciting, high-energy, or otherwise great.

Perhaps that explains why I have trouble with cell phone and internet slang.  “Ghosting” has nothing to do with Casper and his friends.  It is when someone cuts off all communication with you and disappears, like a ghost.  I heard someone say “phubbing” and thought they were mispronouncing “fibbing,” but phubbing is a blend of “phone” and “snubbing,” and it’s what you’re doing when your eyes are glued to your phone instead of to the person to whom you should be paying attention.  Since the average American now spends 3 to 4 hours a day on a phone, there is a chance you have been phubbing or have been phubbed.

Can you dig it?

👉  You are standing on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in a park containing the ruins of the ancient city of Caesarea.  Even now the ruins are beautiful, but go back 2,000 years and look again – the seaport town of 125,000 people is breathtaking.  Just like going ashore from a cruise ship today, vendors are everywhere, offering wares for sale.  For entertainment, there are athletic contests, gladiator competitions, theater performances.

It’s also a seat of government for the Roman Empire.  Today the Roman governor is hearing a case.  The accused has endured some difficult days, and all because he has been proclaiming the Good News of Jesus.  His enemies have gotten him arrested. And now here the Apostle Paul stands, before the Roman governor in Caesarea.

Paul’s accusers have cobbled together all kinds of accusations against Paul, but now it’s his turn.  And he neutralizes the accusations against him one-by-one.  Then he tells the court the real reason he is on trial in Caesarea – because he has been preaching that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead: “I am on trial before you today because I believe in the resurrection of the dead!” (Acts 24:21 – New Living Translation).

2,000 years later, the great Caesarea lies in ruins, but some things remain the same:  the Good News is still the target of Jesus’ enemies.  But the Good News has not changed – through faith in the Living Lord Jesus, forgiveness is ours.  Through faith in Jesus, heaven is ours.  Through faith in Jesus, our lives have meaning, purpose, and joy.  This is so because Jesus has risen from the dead.  Hallelujah!

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