I had seen him before. Occasionally, on a Sunday when I didn’t have to go to church I caught him and his friends on TV. Early, before the heathen Sunday morning cartoons came on the USA network. I watched those too, though. But, to see him was a rare, exciting treat. Then, around 1985 or so I was blessed with the gift of getting to watch a program over and over and over again. We got a VCR!
With the VCR, I was allowed to buy two VHS tapes. Along with a tape of various Betty Boop and Felix the Cat cartoons I bought a tape of “him” and his friends. Betty was cool, but he captured my heart. I watched him tirelessly, every free moment I had between coloring, monkey bars and Little Debbie oatmeal pies.
He was a ladies’ man. He was a crooner with a slick head of hair. They swooned over him, falling at his feet. He had a girlfriend, I was jealous. They lived in a different time, a time past. I have always held a dear place in my heart for days gone by, even as a child. I longed for a time when I could be in “Their Gang”, but we’d call it “Our Gang” and we could all be “Little Rascals” together.
His name was Alfalfa and I loved him. He now lives at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. I’ve been to visit.
