Mr. Green Jeans Takes on Monsanto

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Captain_Kangaroo_promotional_postcard_1961

Captain Kangaroo promotional postcard, 1961

Mister Green Jeans Takes on Monsanto

David confronting the giant,
he has both the hammer and the stepladder
with which to confront the colossus.
Once the school bell rings
and I have vanished halfway through
Captain Kangaroo’s lilting theme music
that signals that one last commercial––

barreling out our front door
towards the vintage wooden elementary school
that leans so close
across the gravel street that divides us
that I can start out on the first ring of the final morning warning bell
and be in my seat on the second floor
by the time the last dong sounds––

Mr. Green Jeans is going to take on Monsanto
in a wrestling match––
transformed by his color
and that ladder
into a Jolly Green Giant
who will save the world
for future generations.

Of course, this is a dream I had.
Each brave nation not our own
must take on the task for itself––
saving the world one enlightened country at a time.
Anyway, even in fantasy, any kid of the fifties and early sixties
knows Mr. Green Jeans was a handyman, not a horticulturist.
It is poetic license that wrote this poem.

See Mr. Green Jeans here:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_nrfpPcxQw

14 thoughts on “Mr. Green Jeans Takes on Monsanto”

  1. hirundine608's avatarhirundine608

    Interesting, in that I have never seen Captain Kangaroo show. The music however I’m very familiar with. “Puffin Billy” was played frequently on BBC radio. Usually a fifteen minute segment at around 11.am called “Worker’s Playtime”. Many other times too and likely as the intro, for other shows?

    Monsanto? Their roundup key ingredient Glysophate. Is being shown that it attacks the Mitochondrial in humans. Probably other creatures too? Yet they keep producing and spraying that stuff on our planet. How evil is that? Cheers Jamie.

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  2. bobmielke's avatarbobmielke

    Bob Keeshan, Captain Kangaroo, was from St. Louis where this show originated. I was just 6 years old when it aired for the first time. I was transfixed by the characters on that show and watched it for decades.

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  4. momshieb's avatarmomshieb

    Oh, my goodness, how I loved that Captain! My younger sister had a major crush on Mr. Greenjeans.
    As for Monsanto; if ever there was a reason to ONLY shop at local farmer’s markets, they are it. Last summer we bought fresh sweet corn almost every day that it was available. I blanched and froze it. Still have ten ziploc bags left. No Monsanto corn for us!

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    1. lifelessons's avatarlifelessons Post author

      I had no idea how many years he was on until I researched it. They were still showing his shows in the eighties! Unfortunately, they changed the theme song which was so indicative of a certain time of our lives.

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