There I was in deep thought, writing a determination after completing an in-depth investigation of a wage dispute. Just as I was entering the Conclusions of Law, it happened. It started slowly at first, back in the deep dark recesses of my cultured mind. I don't think I was wholly aware of it when it started, but it persisted until I realized it was there. "Da-dum-dum, Da-dum-dum, Da-dum-dum, Da-dum-dum, da-dum-dum-dum-duh, da-dummmm". What is that? It's familiar, and yet...I just can't place it! Before I knew it, I was following the song through my head....."Da-dum-dum, Da-dum-dum, Da-dum-dum, Da-dum-dum....THE MILTON THE MONSTER SHOW!??? WHAAAA???? What the.....? It was actually rather startling - Was it really the tune to the Milton the Monster Show?? I got up from my desk, walked to the back of the office and out the door. Clearly aware of it now, I sang it again in my head...Yes, it was indeed the theme song of Milton the Monster! What the heck?? WHY would THAT song come floating through the memory banks of my mind and into my front line of thought while I was attempting to retrieve a section of State code? Another case of my right-brain, butting-in and taking over again! Another instance of the Id taking over the Ego. I had no choice but to go with it.... (If your in the mood for a little brain-tarnishing, be my guest!)I was quite the connoisseur of cartoons when I was a kid. Milton the Monster was NOT one of my favorites. Why didn't the theme to Beanie and Cecil, Deputy Dawg or my all-time favorite, Bullwinkle and Rocky, filter back? I began to ponder this strange occurrence, and before I knew it, I was on a spree of remembrance.
Remember Felix the Cat? 
He was a wonderful, wonderful cat. Whenever he'd get in a fix, he'd reach right into his bag of tricks. The song promised that you'd laugh so hard, your sides would ache, your heart would go pitter-pat, watching Felix, the wonderful cat. I thought they were saying you'd laugh so hard so sides would ache, your heart would go flim-a-flam. What's the use of watching a cartoon if your heart didn't go flim-a-flam? I figured my heart was already going pitter-pat. I wanted action! I wanted adventure! I wanted that bag of tricks, I can tell you that!
Another cartoon show I loved when I was little was The Dick Tracy Show. 
It came on just as I got home from school in the 2nd grade. The intro was fast-moving and action packed. In one sequence, it showed Dick screaming around a corner in his squad car. The criminal in the back peered out the window and his eyes grew to big, pulsing saucers as Dick made the turn. I felt for that guy, as there were several occasions at that age when my eyes did that as I was riding through town with my teenage brother. It happened to me again when I was riding with my son Josh as he was learning to drive (not to mention my heart going flim-a-flam!)
The show had a great group of criminals, such as Prune Face and Itchy, Flat-Top and B-B Eyes, and Mumbles. Dick also had his colleagues, including Joe Jitzu, Hemlock Holmes and Heap O'Calorie. Although Dick Tracy was often pre-empted by American Bandstand when my brother got home from school, I still enjoyed watching every snippet I could. That was one cool show...
Sometimes, the best cartoons did not garner top billing in a show. Mr. Peabody and his boy, Sherman, are a great example. They sometimes appeared as part of the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. 
In this cartoon, Peabody was a dog who wore big round glasses and talked like a professor. He also had a boy named Sherman, which for some odd reason seemed perfectly acceptable to me at the time. Peabody invented a "wayback" machine that he and Sherman would use to travel back in time to witness various historical events. Each time, however, they would discover that things didn't happen the way they were supposed to (such as Paul Revere not being able to make his ride due to only having a statue for a horse instead of a real one), and would subsequently wind up working to fix whatever the problem was (using Peabody's great intellect to do so), so that history would be accurate. Sherman would sometimes make a very stupid pun at the end of the show, thus confirming the intellectual superiority of the dog.
Fractured Fairytales was another "also-ran" on the Bullwinkle Show. I don't feel the need to go into detail here. For most "boomers", that cartoon stands out as one of our all-time favorites. Even the intro song was classic!
But what about the old standards? In my mind, these included Huckleberry Hound, Popeye, Mickey Mouse cartoons and the other Disney classics. But how about Auggie Doggy and Doggy Daddy? Heckle and Jeckel - class clowns of crows? Tom and Jerry, Mighty Mouse, Bugs Bunny or Woody Woodpecker! There was Yogi Bear and Boo-boo, Top Cat, Lippy the Lion and Hardy-har-har. And Road Runner! Are you kidding me?? That was a brilliant cartoon!
I could (and have) gone on for days about old, classic cartoons. The authors must have been frustrated comedy writers whose stuff was a little too sophisticated for Dick VanDyke Show. Anyway, I loved their stuff and wish I had their creative minds! And I realize as I am writing this that I must have watched Milton the Monster with the hope of seeing Fearless Fly. As lame as that Gomer-talking Milton was, Fearless made the show worth watching! With that, I'll bring this post to a close. I still don't know why that song dug its way out to the light of day, but it led to a pleasant trip down memory lane. I did manage to finish the Determination, too! With that, I guess I only have one thing to say.......
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