Lasting Impressions that never went away

I have often said if you want to be happy as an adult you must never forget the dreams you had as a child. You should if you could, pursue them as your manifest destiny, your chart for life, for there lies your true desire! It's not Rocket Science for back then you were pure in heart and pure in mind. Back then you hadn't been influenced by lots of stuff, we just knew what made us happy and dreamed, more or less, for more of the same. As a youngster I watched the Wonderful World of Disney, Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, Curt Gowdy and the American Sportsman, read lots of books and magazines about hunting, fishing, the west, outdoor life and the rest, my mind constantly focusing on the future and a simple life of adventure in the Great Outdoors. One movie that set me to thinking about other continents was unknown to me by name for most of my life. "Sammy Going South" was a movie I saw when I was pretty young maybe 10 maybe more. I saw only the last thirty or so minutes and never forgot it. Occasionally over the years I asked around to folks that had a movie thing going on you know movie hound types, especially old movie hound types but never had a hit, just a cold trail. I didn't know the name of the movie, the names of the actors or even when it was made, it was a long time ago and from what I could remember the main adult character was small of statue but I couldn't be sure. I did searches on line and tried lots of different methods and pretty much gave up. Time passed and ever so often I'd give it another shot and in so doing about a year ago I stumbled across a site that allowed me to find what I was looking for. Sammy Going South was made as an English movie and released in America under the title, A Boy Ten Feet Tall in 1963 or so, I was 8 years old. The story was about a young boy that made his way 4500 miles or so across Africa mostly on his own from North to South and all that he encountered along the way. The main adult character turned out to be Edward G Robinson. I ordered a copy of the movie, watched it for the first time in 40 years or so and sat back in satisfaction at knowing that I hadn't been just a young kid that, as a young kid had over exaggerated the impression the movie made on me, the feelings were the same, the memories came back sharp and clear. The movie had been real and I had found it. Not just for me but for my daughter and my new grandchild, a granddaughter that will be here in April and for all the other nephews, cousins and kids that I know or will know that are coming down my path. I want to sit and watch them watch it, see what they soak up, watch their concentration, listen to what they say about it and hopefully they will be touched a bit like I was, hopefully it will enhance their young spirits towards travel, adventure and making their own life what they dream it will be. This isn't the end of the story. I just recently found a great copy of the book by W. H. Canaway, I hope to read it soon down at the cabin in Mississippi, sittin by the wood stove, warm and cozy with nothing but my old dreams keeping me company.