Sundays at home when I was a kid involved church every morning and a big midday meal. Then in the afternoon we, like so many Americans at the time, went for a drive. This was in the years after WWII, when gasoline began to be once more available. More than available; it was being promoted, along with new cars with radios. My clearest memories of those drives involve the radio shows we listened to from the beginning of the drive until we got home. That was usually early evening. Then I listened avidly till bedtime while preparing a light supper from whatever was around.
Those shows are still around. I found many of my favorites on YouTube this morning. They range from Our Miss Brooks (Why did I like that?) to the often sophisticated humor of The Jack Benny Show. A memory from that show....one week someone had a line referring to a "grease rack". Remember these shows were live. The person mis-spoke and said "grass reek". Much laughter. During the following week's show Jack said "I looked out the window and saw a skunk walk across the lawn. Boy, did that grass reek."
Television existed during this period but very few people in our town had it or had even seen it. Some of the shows did segue into T V shows but for me the magic was gone, The beauty of listening while at the kitchen table is that one's imagination is engaged and the scenes of the show can be whatever you wish or imagine.
Some of the other radio shows I remember are Halls of Ivy, Amos and Andy, Inner Sanctum, The Shadow, Duffy's Tavern,Meet Coreliss Archer, My Friend Irma, The Charlie McCarthy Show, and The Dennis Day Show. I found a site that has available every show since the beginning of time
here.
What shows, if any, did you listen to when you were a kid? Did the advent of T V Dinners affect how you watched or listened? How about now?
Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of their evening around a virtual kitchen table with kossacks who are caring and supportive of one another. So bring your stories, jokes, photos, funny pics, music, interesting videos, and so forth. Or just say "Hi" if you've had a long day and are too exhausted to participate more actively. We would also appreciate links—including quotations—to diaries, news stories, and books that you think this community would appreciate.
Please note that pie fights will be unwelcome in this community, just as in most other series at DKos. There's lots of space at the rest of the site for fighting with other Democrats, progressives, and liberals, and we don't want those battles dragged into this community.
Finally, readers may notice that most who are posting diaries and comments in this series already know one another to some degree, but that definitely does not mean that newcomers will be excluded or unwelcome. We're happy to welcome guests to our kitchen table, and hope to make some new friends as well.
KTK posts nightly at 5:00 Pacific, 6:00 Mountain, 7:00 Central, 8:00 Eastern.