When we watch cartoons, we usually start with the ones Grandpa watched when he was a boy; "the classics," as he calls them. But after that, we'll watch some of what he calls "the rare gems." These are ones that most people have probably never seen before because they've either never been on TV, or weren't on TV for very long. Grandpa gets these near the flea market's small one-ring circus that he calls "the little mud show." Behind the little mud show, there's a man with a folding table who sells the videotapes of these cartoons. There are no pictures on the tape covers like there are with the classics; only a plain white label with the name of the cartoon written in blue ink.
One of these is my favorite cartoon of all time. It's called "Mrs. Kimka's Hot Air Balloon Hijinks." It's about a lady who retired from being a bus driver and used her retirement money to buy a hot air balloon that she flies around the town in to find bullies and teach them how to be better people. She wears her long, white hair in braids and has a little dog named Cornelius who goes up in the balloon with her. Cornelius has dreams of moving to Paris to be an opera singer. Sometimes, he talks like he thinks he's better than everyone in the town including Mrs. Kimka, but I think he really does love her and she doesn't seem to take him too seriously when he gets like that. Plus, they both hate to see anybody getting bullied, so they work well together as a pair.
At the end of each episode, when Mrs. Kimka lands the hot air balloon in her backyard, she gives Cornelius a treat and says "You like that peanut butter biscuit, Corny?" Cornelius always acts bored and says "It isn't caviar my love, but it'll do." But then you can tell by the way he gobbles it that it's his favorite food in the world.
We only have four tapes of "Mrs. Kimka's Hot Air Balloon Hijinks." Grandpa went back to the flea market to try to get more, but the guy who sells them said that's all that was ever made.
I asked Grandpa what he thinks of "Mrs. Kimka's Hot Air Balloon Hijinks." He shrugged and said "It's nice, but it's no Marva."
YOU ARE READING
Marva in the Garden
FantasyA rare, animated cartoon enters the lives of a young girl and her grandfather.
