Rowdy game of tag takes dad back to childhood

“Because I Said So” column for The Commercial Appeal

April 29, 2010

Last week we received a DVD from Netflix in the mail that has allowed us to stream movies and such into our television from the Internet.

It’s as though the 21st century was delivered to our mailbox.

The following morning began with a film festival of classic cartoons created by Tex Avery and Chuck Jones for Warner Bros. The kids and I laughed aloud at the antics of Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, Marvin the Martian, Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner.

It was as though the 1940s were delivered to our living room.

The plot, as it were, of so many of these old cartoons is simple. It’s the chase, the hunt. Elmer chased Bugs, Coyote chased Roadrunner, Sylvester chased Tweety, and Pepe Le Pew chased anything that moved.

So it was disheartening later that same evening to watch my kids, some friends and a cousin outside playing chase. Or, rather, attempting some awful approximation of the classic childhood activity … (read more)