Le ranch de l'espoir

This show really is Canada, isn't it? Not just Canada, it's our gritty underbelly. I remember my days as a scamp of a criminal in the mean streets of downtown Sarnia. Oh, there were days when I'd stay out well past 8PM with no regard for the streetlights being on. I'd prowl the streets and sometimes spit if no one were around. That's right, spit! On the street! And, from time to time, I'd be heard to utter a vulgarity of a nature even harsher than what is about to follow - "crap." That's right, I know a few words worse than crap, and dang it, I would say them. As a free spirited Canadian punk, I even enjoyed it. Though later I felt awfully guilty and would steal some money to give to a charitable cause.

Now, what has this to do with Winston Rekert and his Neon Riding School? Just this - I related to this show. I longed for this show to be real. Deep inside my rebel heart, I wanted to know that the cure to all my ills lay in a man in need of a haircut and his shabby farm full of hooligans. How my intestines clenched with joyous exuberance every time another youth on the fringe was saved from damnation after shoveling manure (or dung, if you will) for an hour. "Let me shovel your manure, Winston!" I would shout from my stained recliner. But alas, Winston never heard my cries.

Still, just knowing that shoveling manure was a fix for juvenile delinquency and various other hokey things was enough to turn my life around. I sought out rats at first, then a stray siamese cat and every day I dutifully picked up their manure and threw it away in a mostly sanitary fashion. And sure enough, by year's end, I no longer wanted to spit, to cuss, to play Jacks for nickles or steal the pants from hobos. I was changed. I became a pizza boy, married my third grade teacher and started my own quail farm. Life is good now.

So today, I tell you this, Neon Rider can save you too. Sit. Sit my friend and watch. Open your heart to a shovel full of manure and a new outlook on life. Bless you, Winston Rekert. Bless you. And never once question how this dumbed down view of real life problems that repeated itself over and over in a simplistic, formulaic fashion isn't still on.

I am also a Canadian and was born here 33 years ago. I am sad to see people not seeing how programs like this can help people with certain things that often DO come up in a teens life. I think the basis of good old fashioned plots in television is never wrong...how can there possibly be anything wrong with a positive message? What if one of us had a teenager in trouble and they per chance were channel surfing and saw an episode of Neon rider on teen pregnancy or racism, and they are in someway or another either comforted or found help with their problem? How can that not be a great thing?!? I have to admit, I am quite certain that while although a majority of Canadians are living a normal life(and what is normal?) but unfortunately, there IS a lot of family dysfunction as well. And a program like Neon rider can not do anything but help.

Contrary to the last comment, I think this show was great. This show was not about representing the average Canadian kid anymore then the Sopranos is about Representing Italians or Americans. It's about a very specific segment of the population, and this one was about street kids and a man who was out to make a difference and help them. Michael Terry's character was witty and sarcastic... but he was a great match for the kids he dealt with. His tactics were interesting and remind me of some successful alternative schools for troubled teenagers. The subject matter was usually very heavy, and dealt with serious stuff, but growing up in a group home myself I could relate - having seen so many with similar problems and issues. I also appreciate the show for raising awareness about the troubles more and more kids face these days. Most of the issues he covered tend to be on the rise over the past years not on the decline, but this show was ahead of it's time. There are rare people in life that take the time to invest in a troubled teenager. The theme song echoed the show: "Never give up on a rough teenager." I'm thankful for a show that raised awareness about the most marginalized group of teens: those who are usually neglected or abused and are in trouble.