Okay. Who recognizes these lyrics? They’re from a very well known Canadian television show:
There’s a voice that keeps on calling me
Down the road, that’s where I’ll always be.
Every stop I make, I make a new friend,
Can’t stay for long, just turn around and I’m gone againMaybe tomorrow, I’ll want to settle down,
Until tomorrow, I’ll just keep moving on.
This song has been permanently embedded in my brain since last weekend. (Ha! Here it is on YouTube!) This is most unfortunate, but I have no one to blame but myself. I, Andrea, have introduced The Littlest Hobo to a new generation of children.
One morning last weekend Sarah and I sat down to watch TV. As I scrolled through the onscreen guide I spotted The Littlest Hobo. I loved this show when I was her age! I explained the premise:
“You see, there’s this dog, a big German Shepard, and he travels around the country helping people who are in trouble.”
“What’s his name?”
I thought about it. “I don’t think we ever learn his real name, but every person he meets gives him a new one. But after he leaves and meets someone new he gets a different name.”
Sarah really enjoyed the show, but I had to pause about a dozen times to discuss what was going on. I had to explain what “hobo” means, for starters. And the particular episode we watched included a ransom note (the kind made by letters cut out of the newspaper), blackmail, a talk-show host, and the term “hit and run” … (I KNOW) all of which required dutiful explanation. It took us awhile to get through it all (thank god for the pause feature on our PVR). It was er, educational, to say the least.
Did you know the show has been on since 1979? (Here’s the Wiki entry about it.) It helped broadcasters fulfill their CanCon requirements (best explained here) back then. Still does, I guess. I can’t believe it’s still on air!