David Carradine died today. My wife sent me the news by e-mail. She knew it would mean something to me. His death caused my childhood memories to swim back up from the long buried depths of my mind. Kung Fu was the only show I looked forward to watching as a child. Often, it was the only show my parents would prevent me from watching if I deserved some punishment. In the days before VCRs, that meant waiting months for a re-run.
Kung Fu had a weird affect on the kids in my neighborhood. We tried to catch knives and knock arrows and spears from the air long before Myth Busters came along. I remember two occasions were friends tried to catch arrows. In one case the arrow pierced my friends hand. In another attempt, the arrow ricocheted off a wall and ruined the eye of an observer. I was not present for either accident, but saw the aftermath.
We all practiced our Kung Fu too. I collected the usual injuries trying to recreate the action scenes for the previous weeks episodes. David Carradine inspired us to try new things, even playing the flute. We were too young to realize his shows were pap. It would not have mattered anyway.
It is always sad when one of your heroes dies. R.I.P. David Carradine. Thanks for the memories.
