FOLLOW US ON:
GET THE NEWSLETTER
CONTACT US
Neil Young & family discuss model trains & his son’s cerebral palsy on Nickelodeon, 1994
02.05.2015
12:12 pm
Topics:
Tags:


 
Dangerous Minds has written before about Neil Young’s enthusiasm for model trains, his investment in the Lionel model train company and his development of (and design and engineering for) the Liontech corporation, who really changed the game for model train hobbyists (don’t laugh! It’s true!). Despite Young’s relative openness on the subject (and his full candor in the fantastic memoir, Waging Heavy Peace: A Hippie Dream), many of his fans aren’t aware that he has two sons with cerebral palsy, a permanent physical disorder, often with an intellectual component. His techy train obsession actually evolved from a series of hacks he designed to make the set-up usable for his son Ben Young, whose limited mobility was aided by large buttons and controls he could operate by pivoting his head.

While all this information is out there, Young still hasn’t really advertised his innovations’ home-grown roots, which is why I was so pleased to find this 1994 interview with him and his family from Nick News W/5. Now known as Nick News, the Nickelodeon news show is actually a pretty fantastic program (or at least it was, when I remember watching it). Covering controversial subjects like presidential elections, same-sex couples and their families and gun control, host Linda Ellerbee never condescended to her young audience.

You’ll notice Neil does not dominate the piece, with daughter Amber and wife Pegi given a voice as well. It’s actually an incredibly sweet and intimate look at their family life, and the Youngs are clearly supportive and conscientious advocates for Ben. The fact that Neil and Pegi chose a children’s show (and not some earnest display of daytime TV pathos) to open up to really underscores their commitment to their kids.
 

Posted by Amber Frost
|
02.05.2015
12:12 pm
|