Friday, April 8, 2011

Mr. Sludge Spends the Night on the Davenport and Christmas Cards in June!

OTR Friday and time for a trip in the WaBac machine to 1940 and another visit with America's Home Folks in the little house half way up on the next block, Paul Rhymer's "Vic & Sade".

A couple of back to back shows this time around and again I remind those who don't take a listen and to all those new folks who happen onto this humble blog, this is some of the finest humor based on the American experience ever done, right up there with Mark Twain and Garrison Keillor.

To those of you using a Steve ("I don't support 'Flash') Jobs device to check this out and can't see the 'play' buttons here. Well...don't worry about it...it's just one more example of the limitations you have in getting information from the world wide innerwebs by making that shitbag more money, so just wallow in your ignorance, see if I care.

From June 17, 1940 - Mr. Sludge who stays at Miz Harris' boarding house is left alone for the night, and Miz Harris asks Sade to let the meek man come sleep on the Gook's davenport, since even at 40, he's afraid to stay in the house alone.

To quote Sade "He wouldn't any more stay in the house alone than a horse.".

There's also more great stuff with Rush reading from the latest "3rd Lt. Stanley" epic. Geez I'd like to read that over his shoulder.

Enjoy!




And from June 18, 1940 - It's only mid-June and the onslaught of mail-order Christmas Card sales folks from the neighborhood has already begun.

This is another great Rhymer running gag that pops up anytime during the year and is always fresh and original, no matter how often it's used. In fact, the familiarity with it is a big part of the humor. Of the friends, naeighbors and family already hitting the Gooks up for their X-mas dime are Hank Gutsstop, Mr. Erickson, Mr. Gumpox (the garbage man), Miz Harris, Miz Scott, Miz Wheeler, Mr. Bueller's (Vic's boss) niece and of course Sade's sister, Aunt Bess and her husband Uncle Walter (of the twingy kneecap).

Why would so many people be hawking these mail order Christmas Cards? Why because the person who sells the most cards gets awarded, among other things, an hour of free parking in the downtown section of Toledo, Ohio. Now, "Who in the name of Detroit, Michigan" could pass that up?

Letters from Aunt Bess are another great running gag that is sheer genius. They're almost verbatim, exactly the same each and every time, yet Rhymer's handling of Vic, Sade and Rush's reading of it, is original and funny.

This episode is also unusual, as the commercials for "Crisco" are intact. Nice little pop-culture history there.

Enjoy!




Our visual for today is the Radio and Television Mirror for August of 1942. A great picture included of Vic, Sade and Rush on the family front porch.





Talk to you soon.

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