A Very Wild Christmas Memory from 1977

 A Very Wild (and Practical) Christmas Morning in Our One-Level House

December Christmas, 25th, 1977.

Wow! Christmas morning was... well, it was definitely different this year. I ran to the living room in our little three-bedroom, one-level house to see what Santa brought, and there was a race car track! And a Captain America comic book! Those were awesome.

But then I saw a letter. It was addressed to me, and it was from SANTA! But it wasn't a happy, "Ho ho ho!" letter. This one was a little... serious. He said he'd noticed that I was really good at losing my gloves, hats, and even my coat. So, he said, until I got better at keeping track of my things, he wasn't going to leave me any more toys.

Instead, my stocking was stuffed FULL of gloves! And hats! And even some warm, fuzzy socks. It was kind of a lot of gloves and hats.

But then I saw a big box in the living room. It was heavy! Inside, there was a really nice, thick, winter coat. Mom said Santa knew how cold it gets in Flagstaff during the winter, and this would help keep me warm on those chilly days and freezing nights. It was a really good coat, even if it wasn't a toy.

And you know what else was really neat? My cousins, [mention their names if you like], gave our whole family a "record." It's this big, flat, square thing, and they said their band, called Wild Country, made it themselves! They only made, like, a hundred of them, just for people they knew. That's even rarer than my Captain America!

Mom put the record on this big, spinning thing called a "turntable" that was part of our stereo in the living room. It made this little scratchy sound when the needle went down, and then... MUSIC! It was different than the Elvis records Dad always plays, or the twangy country songs Mom likes. This was... well, it was Wild Country!

I remember sitting right in front of the big speakers with my brother/sister [mention their names if applicable], trying to figure out all the sounds. There was a guitar that went twang-a-lang, and someone singing with a voice that sounded kinda like Dad when he's happy. Some of the songs were fast and made you want to bounce around, and others were slower, like when we're driving home late at night.

My cousins were on the cover of the record! They looked a little bit like cowboys, but with longer hair. It was so cool to think that people we actually KNEW were making real music that we could listen to whenever we wanted. Dad said this was a "vinyl" record and that it was special because it was one of their very first ones, from before they got really famous and changed their name to something about a state. But this Wild Country record? This was ours. A Christmas gift made with love, just for us. I bet it's going to be played a LOT in our house! Maybe one day I'll even learn all the words.

So, yeah, Christmas was... interesting. Santa was a little bit grumpy about my lost things, but I got a super warm coat and a really cool record from my cousins. Maybe if I'm extra careful with my gloves and hats this year, next Christmas will have more toys AND music in our one-level Flagstaff house!

September 10th, 1977: The Morning Is MONUMENTAL! With SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS LINE UP!

 September 10th, 1977: The Morning Is MONUMENTAL! The New Saturday Morning Lineup Has Exploded!

Wake up, everyone! WAKE UP! This is it! It’s September 10th, 1977, and if you thought last year was big, you haven't seen anything yet. I’ve been staring at the TV Guide all week, and my friends and I have been buzzing about it on the school bus—this is a historic day for Saturday mornings!

For months, all we’ve had are reruns of our favorite shows. But today, the new season kicks off, bringing fresh adventures, wild new characters, and some of the biggest cartoon events we’ve ever seen. Forget primetime TV; today is our Super Bowl, our World Series, our whole Christmas rolled into one glorious morning of television. The networks—ABC, CBS, and NBC—are going to war for our attention, and we are the happy winners!

Let's get right into the new shows and the incredible returning favorites for 1977!

ABC: The Laff-A-Lympics and an ALL-NEW Super Friends!

ABC is dropping a bombshell this year with a lineup that’s beyond anything we could have imagined. The biggest, most jaw-dropping news is Scooby’s All-Star Laff-A-Lympics! It's not just one show; it’s a massive two-hour block! We get new Scooby-Doo mysteries, but the best part is the main event: a cartoon Olympics! Three teams—the Scooby Doobies (with Scooby, Dynomutt, and Captain Caveman!), the Yogi Yahooeys (with Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound!), and the dastardly Really Rottens (led by Mumbly and Dread Baron!)—all competing in wild, hilarious contests around the world. This is pure genius, and it's going to be a riot!

But wait, there’s more! The All-New Super Friends Hour is here! They've expanded the show with new adventures and new heroes, including Zan and Jayna, the Wonder Twins, who can turn into anything! Plus, they’ve added villains and more stories. I can’t wait to see what new powers and threats they face. Our weekly dose of heroes just got a major upgrade!

CBS: Godzilla, Space Adventures, and a Star-Powered Boxer!

CBS is bringing the heat this year with some monster-sized debuts! The one I'm absolutely losing my mind over is The Godzilla Power Hour! The actual Godzilla from the movies is now a cartoon, protecting the world from giant monsters, and he has a sidekick, Godzooky, who can fly! It's going to be massive, literally.

They're also introducing a brand new live-action show called Space Academy, a space school for kids with cool effects and futuristic gadgets. It looks like something straight out of a science-fiction movie! The hilarious Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids are back with more episodes, bringing us more laughs and good lessons from the junkyard. And they’ve got a cool new cartoon package called The Skatebirds, featuring segments about a dog detective and a mysterious island. Plus, Shazam! and Isis are still fighting crime in their own superhero hour!

NBC: The Greatest Animated Boxer and a Whole New Space Team!

NBC is getting in on the action with some amazing new shows! I can't believe this is a cartoon, but it's true: I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali is here! It's about the real-life boxing champion having adventures and using his brains and brawn to solve problems. This is a show with a real-life superstar!

They're also debuting Space Sentinels, a new superhero team who protects the Earth from space, and it looks really exciting. Of course, the ever-cool Land of the Lost is back for another thrilling season with dinosaurs and Sleestaks—I get a little scared every time those guys show up! And the classic silent comedy of The Pink Panther Show is always a welcome sight to start the morning.

The Best Morning of the Year, Every Year!

The house is filled with that special Saturday morning energy. The sounds of theme songs, the clatter of cereal spoons, and the promise of hours of pure fun. The commercials are already blasting—Star Wars action figures are everywhere now! And I saw an ad for a new Stretch Monster! The jingles for cereals like Cookie Crisp are already stuck in my head.

This isn’t just watching TV; it’s our weekly ritual, our shared adventure with millions of other kids across the country. It’s about being part of something bigger, laughing, gasping, and sharing in the pure, unadulterated escapism. 1977 is going to be an absolutely unforgettable year for Saturday mornings. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think Captain Caveman is yelling his name!

What new show are you racing to watch first this morning? Let me know your top picks!