Old is Gold

                              The day I was hired as a full-time newspaper reporter for the first time more than 33 years ago, I was the second-youngest person in the newsroom.  My old editor was straight out of central casting ----- white shirt, rolled-up sleeves, tie undone, ink-stained breast pocket, crew cut, chewed pencil balancing on an ear, pica ruler poking out of a back pocket.
                              He used to call me kid.
                              Today I'm an old coot.
                              While my wife would beg to differ ------- at least that's what I'm hoping -------- one irritated reader phoned to pin the moniker on me.
                               "I just read your article about how much you hate the comedy shows on TV today, that they're not as good as the old ones," the caller began.  "You know, I've been reading your articles and you don't like anything new.  You write that article about new words you don't like, and I think you did one about songs today you don't like.
                              "You're an old coot, know that?  You just like old stuff."
                              I find the label quite humorous, unlike today's TV comedies.  I'm not in the minority here, as the amount of phone calls and emails supporting my opinion attest.  By and large, readers agreed with me that the popular comedies of today ----- "The Big Bang Theory" and "How I Met Your Mother" ------ don't compare to many of the top comedies of the 50s, 60s, and 70s like "The Honeymooners," "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C." and "All in the Family," many of which are on MeTV, which airs classic programs.
                              Lots of old coots like me out there.
                             And coot-ettes.
                             "I read your commentary about TV comedies and couldn't agree more," wrote Beth Ann O'Toole of Warrington, who almost exclusivelywatches MeTV and other Classic channels such as Retro TV and Antenna TV.  "I still enjoy a little bit of TV Land programming, like "Everybody Loves Raymond." ........ The rest of it, forget about it.
                             "Yes, our (kind of) TV is gone.  But thank goodness for those (classic TV) channels; they've saved us."
                             Ken Thompson of New Britain was visiting his brother John in North Carolina last year to attend their mom's funeral when he stumbled upon the nugget of television gold that is MeTV.  During their moments of grief, John played an episode of "Car 54, Where Are You?" that he'd recorded on his DVR for his brother.
                            "It made a sad week a little happier," Thompson said.  "Joe E. Ross (who starred as hilarious NYPD patrolman Gunther Toody) was one of the all-time funniest comedians.
                            "I DVR " The Phil Silvers Show," "Car 54," "The Untouchables" and a few others (on MeTV).  Thanks for spreading this important word."
                            Hey, we old coots have to stick together.
                            Sandy Armitage of Solebury is a card-carrying member of the old coots.  For years, he and his friends have complained about the dearth of truly funny TV comedies produced today.
                            "It seems like the writers today just plain don't get what makes people laugh," he wrote.  "With the old shows, often it was just a look or one word, and we find ourselves cracking up with laughter."
                            Mark Merski of Quakertown called to say he knows the problem with today's TV comedies.
                            "I watch a lot of TV," he said.  "What I've noticed is the writers are trying to be clever rather than funny.  It's like they're trying to show off how smart they are instead of writing something that will make us laugh for a half hour.
                            "Thanks for your column on those old sitcoms.  Today's sitcom writers could learn a thing or two about what's funny and what isn't.  They should know that old is gold."
                           But then, we coots already knew that.