"Casey Jones", My Aunt Mary, "Paladin" and a Hard Lesson in Life

This story is about part of a "Doring family tradition's", at our “Granny Doring's house”, back in the late 1950's through about the entire 1960's. So here goes!
From the time I was old enough to remember anything much, we went over to Granny Doring's almost every Saturday night. And the way that went was, earlier in the evening, the aunts, Mary and Carolyn, and very early on Aunt Jeanette, would usually help to entertain Susan and I. When I got old enough to do so, I joined in and played board games with the aunt's, and Susan. We played games like, Parcheesi, and Sorry, and Chinese Checkers, and Clue was a real favorite. Sometimes we would play outside in Granny Doring's yard, And sometimes we would go across the street to play over at that “legendary” park across from Granny Doring's house.
Aunti Jeanette, being the eldest, got married to our awesome "Unkie" Jim in August of 1956. So I don't remember her being there as much during those times as much as I remember Aunt Mary and Aunt Carolyn being there. But Aunti Mary was there for a time until around 1962? I don't remember the exact year she and Uncle Roy got married, but Aunt Mary was there on those Saturday night's for awhile. Eventually I will get to the "Aunti Mary" part of this story, I promise :)
Anyway, Aunti Carolyn, being the youngest of the three sisters, was around long enough so that I well remember us, three, Aunti Carolyn, my sister Susan, and myself, playing many board games, and running around outside of Granny's house, and going over to that that famous park across the street to play, etc.
Every Saturday evening, after we fooled around for awhile, depending on whether Dad, Mom, Susan and I had already eaten or not, Granny would put on a fine supper! And her legendary enchiladas (No one, and I mean no one, could make them like Granny Doring did!) were often on the menu. And in the later years of this era, “Texas Hash”, with red beans and cornbread, was often on Granny's menu as well.
So, by the time we finished eating it would be somewhere around 7:00 to 7:30, or PM, I think. Maybe Aunti Carolyn can help me fine tune my story, if I am off on a few of the finer points.|
Anyway, the big event for the night was, always at around 8:00 PM, (I think) as we all sat down in front of that old black and white “Admiral” TV set, in Granny's living room, waiting to watch Gun Smoke, when it came on. Sometimes Dad would pop some popcorn, and sometimes Granny served Iced tea. And sometimes we got ice cream to watch Gun Smoke by. And those were the days!
But, there was a TV show or two that came on before Gun Smoke. Very early on in this “family tradition” one of the TV shows that came on before Gun Smoke, was “Casey Jones”. That TV series stared Alan Hale, as “Casey Jones”. Of course he went on to be better remembered as “The Captain” on Gilligan's Island. But before that, he stared on the Casey Jones series as “Casey Jones”, the famous steam train engineer.
And much like the space ship on Star Trek was a “costar" of sorts, on the Casey Jones series, the Cannonball Express, was the co star of sorts. And this all happened way back in 1957 to '58, because I Googled “Casey Jones, the TV show”, and the series was only “a one season wonder”, :) which only ran from 1957 to 1958. They always put the new shows on in early September, so I would have been a fresh, whole, 6 years old, at the time, having just turned 6 years old in early July. And I loved trains! So just before 7:PM, I would always be sure that I was parked right in front of the Television set in Granny's living room, to see that old steam train come blasting 'round the curve and rumbling down the tracks, just a-smoking and puffing away!
Then, as the train passed by, there sat Alan Hale, beaming his famous smile, while hanging out of the cabin window of the old Cannonball Express! And then, the kid who was his sidekick, would appear in the window with Casey Jones, and he than he would grab the whistle cord and give it a couple of good pulls! And I loved hearing that old steam whistle blow! And all the while the Casey Jones theme song would be playing!Man, was I in Kid heaven though! The part of the opening theme I remember the best was the chorus, which went, “Casey Jones, steamin' and a-rollin' Casey Jones, never have to guess! When you hear the tootin' of the whistle it'll be Casey at the throttle of the Cannonball Express!...”And oh my! For me, that was indeed "Kid heaven”!But one of those Saturday evenings, in early September, after supper, I plopped down in front of the TV to watch Casey Jones. But I when it should have come on, I just kept seeing this cowboy guy. And they kept talking about that cowboy guy. And then, Casey Jones kept not coming on. But being but only a fresh 6 years old, I had little real life experience. So, I just assumed that eventually they would tire of talking about that cowboy guy, who had a black Mustache, and wore a black hat, and sported a a black sunbelt and holster, with a black gun, He also had black cloths, a black bandanna, and black boots, and black everything else, except his for shiny “horse emblem”, on the side of his gun holster. That horse emblem was a very shiny silver.
Later on in life I recognized that silver emblem as the “Knight”, in the game of chess. which was the symbol of Paladin, who was billed in the opening song of that series as, “A Knight Without Armor in a barren land...”.So, as I disinterestedly kept watching this cowboy, all dressed in black, it began to slowly dawn on my naive little Kid's pea brain, that something might be a-miss. In a few minutes, Aunt Mary, who had had been scurrying back and forth to and from the kitchen, clearing the dishes off of the dining room table, suddenly appeared again in the dining room to get a another load of dishes. So, I turned to her, and in total consternation, and I asked her, “Aunt Mary, what happened to Casey Jones?” But Aunt Mary, seeming totally unconcerned about this “disaster”, replied to my “all important” question in a very matter of fact way, giving me her little “wave off” thing she often did, as she simultaneously said, “Oh, they took that off of the TV.” Immediately I begun to have myself a nice little Kid's temper tantrum, as I asked her, “But Why?!”.
However Aunt Mary was already retreating back into the kitchen, probably with doing the dishes on her mind. I have no idea where everyone else was, so having gotten no reply from my Aunt Mary, and her having disappeared back into the kitchen, I was left totally to myself, to fume and to ruminate and to proclaim to my little self about “How stupid it was for 'them' to have taken my Hero, Casey Jones, off the TV!”
To my memory, this my first real lesson in life, that things do not always stay the same!|But boy was I mad though! ha! ha! And part of my anger was directed towards Aunt Mary for her seemingly completely blaze attitude, and because of her total lack of concern for them having taken my beloved “Casey Jones” off of the air. So the casual “wave off” thing, and other than Aunt Mary, me being alone, and not having received any sympathy whatsoever from my Aunt Mary, the situation made for a very disappointed and an exceedingly angry little kid! ha! ha!
But aren't kids funny though?! I will never forget being so aggravated at Aunt Mary's not seeming to care not at all, that the best TV show on earth just got canceled! But even funnier that that, my little kids mind then dictated how I had to immediately disliked Richard Boone! ha! ha! And that attitude lasted for many years thereafter! Because in my little Kid's pea brain, I did not realize at the time, that it was totally no fault of Richard Boon's at all, that he, as “Paladin”, had supplanted my beloved hero Casey Jones, with Boone's “Have Gun Will Travel” series.
But, most kids of 6 years of age don't normally think “logically”. Therefore, I disliked Richard Boon, for many years thereafter! ha! ha! However, my frustration with Aunt Mary, because of her seemingly “no care” attitude concerning my “grievous” and traumatic “loss” was very short lived. But, it is one of those memories that is forever burned into a kid's mind, that I just laughed at in years to follow, as now, upon the remembering it. But I do well remember it, and in vivid detail, to this very day!But as for “Paladin”, and as for Richard Boone, it took me many years to get over disliking him, and his TV show. “Have Gun – Will Travel” But eventually as I grew up, and as my little Kid emotions gave way to logic, I did eventually have to admit, “Have Gun Will travel” was a good TV show, the demise of Casey Jones, not withstanding!

So, that is my "Saturday Night's at granny Doring's" story, and my “Aunt Mary's first “Legendary Hand Wave Off” story, all in one! :)