As I was reading about the passing of the early day movie icon, Shirley Temple Black, I was thinking about how much the little girl with the dimple and the curls was the epitome of an era of innocence, and therein lies the irony of it all. That era was far from innocent, and Hollywood was in the era of the casting couch, slave type contracts, and molestation of child stars that would entail a very lengthy prison sentence if it occurred today. And yet, when we watch those old movies, we say," wow, everything was so innocent back then."
Growing up Wallace was a state of innocence, even of the actions that we did would not be judged as innocent by some. Why? Because we did not act in spite, and we did not act in hatred, malice, or with the intentions to bully. Nope, we were innocent just like one of my favorite Twain characters was, Mr, Tom Sawyer. ( A little side note, as most of you know, the real life person on whom Twain based the character of Huckleberry Finn is allegedly buried in the Murray Cemetery.) Mr. Sawyer did and said many things that would be construed by the politically correct police force as being punishable by banishment for life, but in reality, Tom Sawyer was as innocent as the pure driven snow. Why? Because his mind was innocent. Tom meant no harm, and his usage of what would be offensive names in today's world, was just the way people talked in that part of the country in that era of time.
As it was with Tom Sawyer, so was it with Wallace. Yes, Wallace had cat houses, and yes, Wallace had lots of bars, and yes, Wallace had illegal card games, and yes, Wallace had an air of innocence. We were innocent because our minds were innocent.
Now, I don't think that the plea of innocence because one's mind was innocent would hold up in a court of law, but it works fine for me when thinking about growing up Wallace, and times that I consider innocent, but maybe to some were far from innocent. As for me, I will hold onto the Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn theory.
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