There are countless ways children are influenced. When they are young, they do not know they are being impressed upon, they simply like what they like; they agree or disagree. However, seeds get planted, which grow into interests, and some interests last a lifetime. Parents and guardians are usually the first people to impact a child’s development. As they grow, children bring friends, teachers, and neighbors into their sphere of influence. On their own, kids find inspiration everywhere. As children mature, their personality is molded by the positive and negative guidance they choose to accept.
Starting in the 1950s, every child, sooner or later, became influenced by television. Melody was no different. Starting at a very young age, two Saturday morning TV shows were responsible for her lifelong obsession with Florida.
The children of Melody’s generation woke up early on Saturday mornings, rushed quietly to the room that had the family television, and watched cartoons, hoping their parents would stay asleep. Melody loved all the popular cartoons of the day, Scooby-Doo, Woody Woodpecker, and of course, Looney Tunes. However, before the cartoons started, Melody would be in front of the television at 6AM, watching two programs aired by the UHF station out of Kalamazoo.
Gentle Ben came on first. It was a show about a family, living in the Florida Everglades, who interacted with a bear named Ben. The parents, Tom and Ellen, had a son named Mark. Tom was a ranger for the park service and would often be seen on his air-boat racing through the swamp lands and sawgrass. What Melody enjoyed most about the show was the scenery, wildlife, and of course Ben. Whenever there were poachers, smugglers, or other bad guys, they would always be apprehended with the help of Ben the bear. Melody liked the show, but it was only a warmup to her favorite program of all. After the Gentle Ben episode ended, and the credits began, Melody would scoot a little closer to the TV screen in anticipation of Flipper. As soon as the theme song began, she would sway back and forth to the music and sing along. “They call him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning. No one you see, is smarter than he.”
Melody loved every episode. Porter Ricks and his two sons, Sandy and Bud, lived such wonderful lives. They were always on the beach, in their boats, or swimming in the ocean. The sky was always clear, the sun was always shining, and their best friend was a dolphin. Melody knew from the credits that Flipper was filmed in Miami, and to her, it was the most beautiful place in the world. During the winter months, Melody was envious of everyone on the TV screen as they enjoyed the sunshine and warm ocean water, while she endured the snow, freezing temperatures, and ugly, overcast skies. Unlike most children who grow up in the north, Melody disliked winter activities. She loved the summer, and to her, Florida was a magical world where it never ended.
Melody’s fascination with the Sunshine State did not end at 7AM on Saturday mornings. She checked out books from her school library and read them repeatedly. She learned about Ponce de Leon, the Seminole Indians, the circus town of Sarasota, and America’s oldest city, St. Augustine. Melody made a habit of spouting off odd and trivial Florida facts, at completely random times, to her parents, whenever she wanted to show off her knowledge. She seemed to know it all, from the Florida Wars, to how many eggs a pelican could lay. Melody claimed that people from Florida never saw snow, had no winter clothing, and ate oranges every day. Knowing her mother was a proud Michigander, Melody never said out loud that Florida was heaven on earth, while Michigan was only pleasant during summer vacation.
***
The family had just gotten home from church, and it was too cold to play outside on this December morning. Walking from the car to the Mivshek’s front door, Melody could feel the wind cutting into her face. She shoved her fists into her jacket pockets and ran inside as soon as her father unlocked the door. Winter had arrived, and Melody dreaded it, longing for summer, with leaves on the trees, flowers in bloom, and dragonflies to chase. Melody played in her room for a little while after lunch, but soon went downstairs to sit next to her father as football began. It had become her custom to only speak during the commercial breaks, because that is when her father’s attention broke away from the TV long enough to answer her. However, Melody would giggle whenever her father yelled at the screen during the game.
Before kickoff, the announcers discussed the match-up between the players of the offensive and defensive teams. Though unfamiliar with the names, terms, and positions, Melody’s attention focused as the cameras zoomed onto the field, into the crowd, and even high above the stadium. Her jaw dropped as she witnessed spectators wearing T-shirts without jackets. The cheerleaders wore beautiful white and orange outfits complimented by feathered hats. The aerial cameras showed a pleasant sunny sky, while words on the screen announced it was 72 degrees. Melody quickly peered out the window, only to see a detestable gray sky blanketing Dowagiac. She felt pangs of jealousy seeing people on TV wearing short pants, while just outside her door, it was too cold to be without a coat. Melody was used to seeing the Lions play in the snow when visiting Chicago or Green Bay, (two teams she was familiar with because her father had cursed them more than once in her presence). Now, on the television, was a team Melody had never seen before. Their white helmets depicted a mustached pirate wearing a plumed hat and holding a knife blade between his teeth. Then, Melody heard the announcer mention the team’s name, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Knowing Tampa was somewhere in Florida, her interest had peaked. Melody waited patiently for the first commercial.
“Have you ever been to Florida, Daddy?” she asked.
“Oh sure, Honey,” Douglas answered. “I’ve been there a couple of times.”
“Is it really beautiful there?”
“Well,” her father answered. “When I made deliveries down there, I didn’t really see anything worthwhile. I was always in the industrial areas with nothing to see but warehouses.” He then added, “But the weather sure is nice. I was once down there in January and didn’t need my thermal underwear!”
Melody laughed as the game came back on. She had more questions for her father, but she remained quiet, not wanting to annoy him. As she sat in silence, waiting for the next commercial, Melody admired the field with the big Buccaneer logo in the center. She smiled upon seeing almost everyone in the stands wearing orange, making them all appear cheerful and festive. It was at that moment orange became Melody’s favorite color. Suddenly, something happened that made her father cheer. He was still clapping his hands as a beer commercial began.
“Are the Buccaneers a good team, Daddy?”
Douglas let out a good hearty laugh. “No, Honey,” he said with a big grin. “The Bucs are not a good team at all. In fact, they are the worst team in the whole league. I’m glad we got them in the Central though.”
“What does that mean?” Melody asked, very interested in football now because of the brightly colored team from Tampa.
“Well, Sweetheart,” Douglas explained. “The Lions, Bears, Packers, and Vikings are all here up north. Tampa Bay is a fairly new team and the league did not know where to put them, so they were lumped into our little party up here. These five teams are called the Central Division and they all play each other twice a year in addition to other games.” Not wanting to overload his daughter with too much information at once, Douglas tried to keep his answers simple.
“The Lions get to go to Tampa twice a year?” Melody asked.
“No no, Honey. The Lions play once in Tampa, and the Bucs play once in Detroit.
“That seems fair.”
Melody asked more and more questions, even during the game, as she became more interested in what was happening. Douglas soon found himself explaining first downs, touchdowns, field goals, tackles, interceptions, sacks, and penalties as Melody slowly began to understand. There were still some confusing aspects of the game, but her excitement now matched her father’s because she had her own team to root for. Melody admired how the Buccaneers kept playing hard, even though they were clearly not as good as the Lions. By the fourth quarter, she would only ask a question if something made absolutely no sense to her. Finally, the time went down to zero and the game was over.
“Oh no, the Buccaneers lost!” Melody cried.
“You weren’t rooting for the Lions?” Douglas kidded.
Melody pouted playfully while crossing her arms in mock defiance. “No! I like the Buccaneers!”
“Well,” her father said as he put his hands on his knees to stand up. “You can’t win them all, Honey.”
After he stood up, Douglas put his hands on the small of his back and bent backwards. After a sharp crack, he straightened back up, looked down at his daughter, and smiled.
“C’mon little Miss Tampa Bay,” he laughed, patting his daughter on the shoulder. “Let’s go see if Mother needs help with dinner.”
“That was fun, Daddy.”
“It sure was.”
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