What Evil Lurks...

"Who knows what evil lurks in the heart of men?"

<Silent pause for effect>

"The Shadow knows."

That voice! That laugh! That music! That announcement always made a little shiver run
down my spine when I heard it on the old radio in the kitchen. Grandpa and I would be sitting at the kitchen table having cereal or ice-cream (I forget which now) while listening. We had a trestle table because Grandma seemed to think that was the best thing for our country kitchen. I don't know if it was the style at the time or if she had seen one somewhere and fell in love, but that's what we had. There was a bench on the side that was up against the wall most of the time, but I sat on the outside in a chair. There was a chair at each end of the table also, Grandma sat at the south end and Grandpa at the north. She'd had it custom-built and I remember it was quite a "to do" because the builder had to come, measure the area where she wanted it to reside and then they had to discuss what kind of wood, what color stain, etc. And then when it arrived, Grandma beamed! Her whole face lit up. A few weeks later.....it cracked right down the middle! Grandma was NOT happy anymore. She had it fixed, but I don't remember what that entailed.

Anyway...The Shadow had run and been cancelled before I was born, but one of the radio stations brought it back and re-ran the entire series of radio shows. We had a television, but this was special and certainly different from TV. We sat quietly together listening, hanging on nearly every word so that we didn't miss anything that might prove important to the plot. I was old enough to listen, but still young enough to be just a little frightened by it. I trusted Grandpa to keep me safe. Of course, had I realized back then that we didn't even lock the doors at night, I might not have felt so secure. But then again, I don't think anyone I knew locked their doors.

Listening to that program was a special time between my Grandpa and I. Even though we listened quietly during the program, we would talk about it later and during other times until we heard the next installment. I began to really look forward to the day and then the time when the next show would be on. It was special. When the show was done, I remember being very sad that I would no longer be able to enjoy that special bond with my Grandpa. We had shared it, but that was moving into the past, I wanted it to continue forever.

I am so thankful that I had that time with my Grandpa. Life moves too fast; children grow up with incredible speed. Childhood is such a short span of time in our development with so many years after it in which to work and become weary of the wrongs we learn about. I think we need to do everything we can to make it a magical time for children. The years of adulthood, responsibility and work are so long, and with changes to the laws, it has gotten longer as retirement ages are pushed farther and farther away.  Having some special or magical moments in our memories can help us get through some rough emotional situations.

Please do all you can to protect the children and to help create magical moments to share with them, they are our future and they are very important to our well-being. Remember that when we are too old to make our own choices anymore, and far too old to revolt, it is today's children who will be running the country and calling all the shots. I think it could improve our lot in old-age-life if the adults in power then have had some magical moments in their childhoods to remember and recall. We are all intertwined in this experience and we really all do  if we take care of each other and look out for one another. Please be a part of creating the magic and sharing love.

Go forth & create magic :)

Namaste.

This table looks exactly like ours!