Free To Be You and Me

There's a land that I see
Where the children are free
And I say it ain't far to this land from where we are
Take my hand, come with me, where the children are free
Take my hand, come with me and we'll run....

To a land where the river runs free
To a land of the green country
To a land of the shining see
To a land where the horses run free
And you and me are free to be
You and me

Every boy in this land grows to be his own man
In this land, every girl grows to be her own woman...

And since you can find anything on Youtube these days: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_26FOHoaC78
Now if you bothered to watch this or didn't, it begins with kids on a carousel, and ends with the carousel horses coming to life and both the kids and the horses riding off into the sunset in true 70s animation fashion.  Magical thinking.  I will buy it hook, line, and sinker every time.  Maybe this time, I think, the magic will happen.


I clap for fairies.  I don't step on cracks.  I make wishes on dandelions and shooting stars (the latter being much more powerful as they are rare, unlike dandelions in my lawn) and birthday candles.  I take fortune cookies and my horoscope a bit seriously, and feel slightly ridiculous.  And when my intuition says it's time to go to TJ Maxx, that the perfect handbag has gone on clearance, I go.  There are many more, but you get the picture.  


Back in the 70s, Free to be You and Me was about gender equality.  All of the stories and songs that made up the show were about boys being able to cry (metaphorically, if nothing else) and girls able to be strong and make their own decisions.  I had the record of the show too, and played it so much that I can recite song lyrics, and skits to this day.  I saw the show on TV several times over the years in the 70s, and I remember watching it on film in 3rd grade.  It came on one of the big reels.  I always liked the films on the big reels-I knew they would be long.


Underneath all the gender role stuff, the message was even stronger: be who you are, be clear and tolerant.   Feelings can be scary, but a happy song will make it better.  People will assume who you are and what you want, don't let them.  Be free.  I guess, in the end, many things I know about life I learned from Marlo Thomas and her Friends.