Cable tv brought Petey all the way out to the far mountain edges of Maryland on late Saturday nights, pre-SNL. It was right around the time I had my picture taken for the yearbook as captain of the cheerleaders, standing beside the captain of the football team. He was black, I wasn't. We put our arms around each other for the picture, 'cause we liked each other. That's all. We just liked each other. The cheerleader adviser asked the photographer to take another photo "with your hands at your sides" and that's the one they printed.

There were things--attitudes, information, behaviors--that didn't make it over those mountains, but Petey Greene did. I loved to see Petey Greene on television. I loved the way he talked about DC politics and about what life was really like in that city. Petey taught me what "doing the dozens" was, among many other things, and it is likely--no, it is certain--that I would have never heard all those things that Petey had to say if his tv show had not been carried on the cable. He informed me, he fascinated me, and he made an existence at least a mountain range away real for me. I remember Petey Greene, I loved to see Petey Greene on television, and I am so happy that a movie has been made about him. Not all films make it to that one 6 screen theatre up in those hills, but I sure hope this film does.

Back when I was in the corporate world, came a time each year that the location and theme of the company summer picnic would be proposed and debated. It was always my suggestion that we rent a nice air-conditioned theatre and arrange a double feature for all the employees. We could spread out cloths and picnic gear in the lobby at intermission. Who wouldn't be happy with that, right? Seemed reasonable to me, anyway. In fact, seemed downright humane, considering August in Maryland but I could never get the votes to override the veto.