Fibber McGee and Molly...

Tonight on the way to rehearsal for The Caine Mutiny court Martial, I tuned into our local radio station to see if I could hear the commercial that they are playing for the show. The usual old boring songs that they play were not on, and instead there was a mystery theater. You know, the ones where they made all those sound effects, coconut shells for horses, corn starch for walking on snow etc...I cant remember what the story line was as It was almost finished when I turned it on.

Soon on came Fibber McGee and Molly. I had not heard that show in over 1/2 a century! It brought back a lot of memories of when I was a child.

We did not have TV because Dad was in the Navy, and we moved too much. We were not allowed a lot of stuff, and all we had was a console radio. Mom was very proud of that AM radio, and played it all the time.

I remember listening to the Soaps on the radio, while Mom would have her ironing board out and be ironing the laundry from the sprinkling bag that she had the clothes in. (yes Phyllis, She actually DID ironing at one time!) Mom's favorite was THE EDGE of NIGHT, and then it was something with a storm in the title.

I would play with my little Ginny doll and my paper dolls, hidden behind the big overstuffed chair in the livingroom. The walls were paneled with Knotty pine wood, and had built in bookcases, and the chair was in front of them. I would crawl behind there, and move the books off the bottom two shelves and play along with the radio shows. There was Mr. Gildersleeve, and The Lone Ranger, and then there was The Shadow Knows and Mickey Spillane. I remember listening to Amos and Andy, and other such shows by the hour. I had to use my imagination to play with my dolls to those shows, but I loved it!

Driving in to Oak harbor tonight and listening to the radio and the long dead actors who made the stories come to life brought back that childhood. It isn't often that you are actually encouraged these days to use your imagination, but once in awhile it is tested, and it is so nice to know that it is still there, tucked into a dark corner, and playing paperdolls just like I used to when I was a little girl.