WASHINGTON — A friend and I were talking a month or so ago and I mentioned that I heard David Cassidy was 60 that day. When I first heard that, I thought, “Impossible, I thought I was old enough to be his mother instead of his contemporary.” She promptly went online and checked it out. Yep, he was 60. His brother, Shaun, is 52. Now, I really feel old.

I remember when... David was THE one to watch on The Partridge family. My kids loved that show. My daughter had a major crush on Shaun Cassidy when she was about nine years old, and so did several other people I know. My friend said that when she was a little girl, she was determined to marry Greg Brady of “The Brady Bunch” when she grew up.

What has happened to all these young stars that are forever young on the screen, but age just like the rest of us in real life?

Then, I thought back to the heroes of my era. Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, the Rifleman, Cheyenne Boady... as likely to kiss their horse or dog at the end of the show as a girl. And their more modern counterparts, Elliott Ness, Sgt Joe Friday, they always caught the bad guys and the bad guys were not glorified by a Robin Hood syndrome. They were the bad guys, period. And the good guys were good to the core, no trifling with a female’s heart, nor sneaking a little extra cash for themselves off the top.  No Ocean’s Eleven, Twelve, or Thirteen for those heroes.

Every once in awhile I get an e-mail with a lot of nostalgic reminiscences. It refers to playing ball and hide and seek outside from dawn to dusk and  later-catching fireflies. We  didn’t have electronic games,  i-Pods, or non-stop movies on video. We made our own games. I remember playing with my toy cars outside. I made roads and bridges and tunnels. I much preferred cowboys and Indians to playing house with  my dolls, although once in awhile I might be caught having a tea party on the front yard.

It would be nice if today’s heroes were as careful of their reputations as those of mid-century. Most of those heroes realized that the children who watched them every Saturday wanted to be like them and tried not to set a bad example.

Granted there were some who didn’t manage an untarnished image, but many did. Today’s screen idols who get arrested for drunk or drug-influenced driving or abusing a spouse, or they are caught fooling around with someone who is not their spouse.

Alas, we cannot go back to those precious days of carefree childhood — none of us. Our lines are not as clearly drawn. The shades of  black and white have been turned to many shades of gray. But the truth is... truth has not changed. A lie is still a lie. Robbery is still stealing no matter what form it takes. Adultery is still a grievous sin against a family.

Let’s cherish our memories, but let’s not dwell on what used to be, but strive to make our homes, our towns, our state and our country better than they are. Nothing will improve unless we all work together.

n Cyndi Pratt is the circulation bookkeeper at the Washington Times Herald. She still likes cowboys and Indians but her heroes today are Sam Elliott, Tom Selleck and Mark Harmon.