Rant #2,109: What's the Matter With Kids Today?

Nothing, nothing at all, as long as we leave them alone to be kids.

And that means we adults should butt out when it comes to our kids, let them find their own way, and let them be kids for as long as they can.

Of course, this is not reality; we are very important in our kids' lives, no matter if the kids are three or 30 years old, or even 61 years old, the age I will be turning in about five weeks.

My parents are still around, and I am still their kid, as is my sister, who is two and half years younger than I am.

Where is this Rant going?

It is going to kids twofold ... what I mean is that we will briefly look into today something we as Baby Boomers cherished as kids, and still love today, a kids' series that really stands up to the test of time, more than 70 years after the last and final episode of this series was new.

I often get to work early, and the door is not open yet for me to enter. When this situation happens, I simply sit in my car and relax, preparing for the long workday.

With nothing to do, I often use my phone for entertainment, and has there ever been a more entertaining series about kids being kids than the Our Gang/Little Rascals comedies?

These shorts, about 15 to 20 minutes long, were a staple on local TV in the 1950s and 1960s, and then, when we as a society became ultra-sensitive about certain things, pretty much faded from the air starting in the 1970s.

They found new life starting in the late 1980s, when home video became part of our lives, and now, just about every available episode can be streamed, uncut and free, at video sites like YouTube.

Created by Hal Roach, these comedies feature a motley crew of kids, a stereotypical bunch of street urchins--and some richer and middle class kids--from the streets of America in the early part of the 20th century to nearly the middle part of that century.

You had the skinny one, the fat one, the bully, the pretty one, the ugly one, the bossy one, the black one, and the white one ... and we can all relate to each of these kids, because they often resemble the group of kids we grew up with in our own lives.

The shorts reflect the beliefs of the time, and often came under fire for their portrayal of blacks. A lot of the stuff truly is incredible to see in this regard, but is done so innocently that you almost have to turn the other cheek on these portrayals, because the kids acting out these stereotypes--namely Farina, Stimey and Buckwheat--were often actually the smartest ones in the Gang, in their own way, in particular Stymie, who was always seemingly one up on the Gang even though he might not have shown it outwardly.

These three characters are among the bevy of young kid actors who we became enamored with in this series, including Chubby, Jackie, Spanky, Alfalfa, Darla, Scotty, Butch, Woim, Porky, and later, Mickey and Froggie.

Yes, each and every one of them was a stereotype, but we laughed along with the stereotypes, something that society frowns upon today.

Many people seem to forget that these shorts were originally made for theatrical showing, and when the world of television was emerging, their short format and subject matter was perfect for the new medium.

Kid show hosts, like Captain Jack McCarthy on New York's Channel 11, became huge stars themselves by featuring these shorts on their after-school shows, and Spanky and the rest of the Gang found a whole new audience years after the fact.

To be real about it, the Gang was a Hollywood creation, professional kid actors portraying neighborhood kids with scripts and situations written by adults, so it wasn't a kid-only enterprise.

But these shorts are generally so well done, and often so true to life, that even generations later, we can laugh at these shorts just as much as our parents and grandparents did when they were young.

So when I am early to work, I go on YouTube and watch one of these shorts. It not only brings me back to my childhood, but it also makes me laugh and feel good as I later walk into work.

The other day, I was watching "The Lucky Corner," one of the best of the shorts. You might remember that in this one, Cap's small lemonade stand is competing with a larger food and beverage establishment for customers.

When the owner of the larger stand complains that Cap's stand is giving him unwarranted competition, he is forced to move the stand and lose his customers.

Enter the Gang to get those customers back, and the 15 minutes that this short runs is packed with one gag after another showing the Gang at its best, with Spanky and Alfalfa leading the way, and with a particular focus on the early Buckwheat character, who we aren't sure if this character is a boy or a girl.

Rife with stereotypes and laughs--including a classic scene where the larger stand serves tainted lemonade to customers--the short is absolutely hilarious from beginning to end.

I must have seen this short 1,000 times, but I still laughed at it as if it was the first time I had ever seen it.

Not every one of these shorts is up to this quality, but so many of them are that you really can't go wrong in watching any of them.

So if you want to go back to another time and place in both your life and in the life of our country, watch these shorts.

They are so much fun ... and so funny.

The comedy is never punitive, and the laughs are plentiful.

I know that later today, I will almost certainly be watching one of these, and it is truly a highlight of my day!

Speak to you again on Monday. Have a good weekend.