The Long (Gone) Ranger

  My brother used to read us the "Funny Papers" as the Sunday comics were called back then, at least by us.  Anyway, my sister and I thought he was reading, but possibly he was only story-telling.  Because there was an epiphany one day, earth shattering, when we learned it was not the Long Ranger, but indeed the Lone Ranger.  I'd thought his name was because he was tall, identifying him with my Uncle Matt, the tallest man we knew, and also a  handsome and  heroic figure. 
    Forward to several years later, after we'd moved to V.F.  Now that we had electricity, we listened to the radio, which broadcast episodes of "The Lone Ranger." The show was probably on Saturday; I remember my brother had to sit in view of the radio when he listened to it. The radio was wooden, with an illuminated  green "eye" front and center, which he must have fixated on.  Other "kid" programs were "Sky King," "Captain Midnight" and a program called "Tennessee Jed," which opened with a rifle shot, as I recall. 
    Television had been invented by then but was not available in our area; no one we knew had a television set until the Village Tavern installed one in the barroom, and the village turned out to view its offerings, boxing matches as I recall.
    I must have been about 7 years old when a neighbor lady told us that television was going to be more widely introduced to where we lived.  I clearly remember her saying to me, "Just think. Now you'll be able to watch "The Lone Ranger" instead of just listening to it on the radio."   Of course I said nothing to contradict her, just smiled and agreed, but I knew better.  A cynic at 7, since my father had assiduously detailed the principle of sound effects:  hoofbeats---the sound of hands clapping, campfire----crinkled cellophane---and so on-- the demystification of a myriad of other western-style sounds.  I knew that was what was behind our radio programs, and I could not believe that there was the slightest chance that anybody anywhere would ever take the time or trouble to translate the telling of a story from characters reading into a microphone amidst various sound effects into a full blown acted-out story, with real horses!  And certainly not just to please kids.  That was way before the time kids were king.  Our expectations were low.  Surprise.