My friend Julia made me think of this by mentioning Schoolhouse Rock. When I was a student at good old Highland Elementary, the teacher would occasionally wheel in the projector and we would be treated to a movie! I can remember being excited yet disappointed at the same time. The films never lived up to my expectations, although I don't really know what those were. At the time there were three television channels to watch, so anything was exciting. And, since it was the 70's, also boring. I couldn't remember anything about this clip except the song, "I'm No Fool." Of course, since the internet is the repository of everything people take the time to write about and upload, there is an entry in Wikipedia about Jiminy and "I'm No Fool." Here is what it says:
In the 1960s and 1970s, Jiminy Cricket appeared in two series of educational films aimed at grade-school-aged audiences. In the "I'm No Fool" series, he advised children how to steer clear of dangerous traffic, sharp objects, strangers, exposed electrical lines, and so forth. In each short, he sang the refrain:
I'm no fool, no sirree!
I'm gonna live to be 23 (then 53, 93, and finally 103)
I play safe for you and me
'Cause I'm no fool!
The other series was called "You", which teaches about the human body with the refrain "You are a human animal...".
In the video, Jiminy warns against playing in dangerous places, like excavation sites. He also covers hiking, high, rocky places, railroad tracks, swiftly running streams and foliage you know nothing about! Oh, and there is a little history lesson about the advent of the 40-hour work week. The best part is when he mentions the difference between YOU (that's y-o-u) and the common, ordinary, fool.
That Jiminy Cricket. What a guy!
