Do you remember the After School Special? Back in the days when television didn't start up until sunrise and it always ended at midnight each night with the Star Spangled Banner and the American flag on the screen? In those days, television held a sort of mystique, offering things to us that could be found no place else. This was in the days before video recording, cable TV and re-runs. If we were fortunate enough to come across the latest TV Guide or if we happened to catch an advertisement about an upcoming movie or show, we could schedule it into our lives. Somehow we weren't as busy then; not as many after school sports and activities programs to tie up our schedules. The occasional After School Special was just that - after school, and special. It was something that only came around once in a while and it was always a clean, heartfelt story. If we missed it, it was assumably lost forever, though all the shows can probably be bought somewhere now on DVD; and that fact does take away some of the mystique, doesn't it?

The After School Special in our home was revered. We knew it was coming and we built our week around it. If it was in winter and the snow sledding hills beckoned, we left our sleds and came inside to watch the show. In the summer months, we came in early from our day at the pool and curled up around a bowl of Jiffy-Pop popcorn to enjoy the special.

My favorite After School Special was one that I've never forgotten. It didn't have the best actors; I scarcely remember what the individuals looked like. But I remember the story. I remember it because years later the same story became a hit movie. The story was about a little girl in present day times (which then, was in the 1970s). I don't remember all the details, but she was frustrated with her mother about something, and she ultimately traveled back in time to the 1950s and met her mother when she was a little girl. The concept fascinated me. I didn't have the best relationship with my mother. She was a bit overbearing and difficult and I fantasized about traveling back in time and meeting her when she was just a girl, like me. In the end, the girl came back to her present day, 1970s life and was able to see her mom in a different light.

Years later, the hit movie, "Back to the Future," came out with a bang and enjoyed instant popularity. To my knowledge, no one ever said anything about the similarities with that once-seen obscure After School Special. I've often wondered if they got the idea from that story, because they were so similar, or if it was just a coincidence. Either way, it was a wonderful story about looking at people from a more objective stance and trying to understand where they're coming from. It would benefit us all if we could relate to others in this way; getting into their history and their space long enough to know them and know where they're coming from. All this wonderful amateur psychology right from my television, when I was a little girl.