44-08-01 Rotten Old Overshoes

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND DAVID WHITEHOUSE

Russell is about to go meet up with friends and help redecorate his Sunday School. However, it's very wet outside and Russell has no overshoes since his others were thrown away because they had fallen apart.

Never fear, Vic's old overshoes are available. Once Russell spies them though, he realizes he'd be made the butt of "universal derision" and chooses instead to spend his money on a taxi cab and bum a ride home afterwards.

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A rather unusual story for Vic and Sade as few crazy things are happening or talked about. Yet who hasn't been in a similar situation?

Hand-me-downs can be embarrassing and Russell is at the age where "universal derision" can be scarring and harmful to one's pride.  (It must be noted however that in 1944, few people were getting new clothes.  This is why Vic shows no sympathy for Rush in an early episode when he complains about his mother picking out school clothes for him at various stores; very few children found themsleves lucky enough to have new anythings during the war.)

Trivia:

+ Vic looks at the breakfast table and notices there's no sugar and Sade gets it and puts it on the table.

While sugar was indeed rationed, you could still buy 5 pounds of sugar every 4 months with your rationing book in 1944. By this time, the Axis submarines in the Caribbean (the main cause of sugar having to be rationed) was easing quite a bit. Another reason to ration, of course, was so the United States could continue to provide a great deal of sugar to the Allies overseas.

+ The Gooks have a 'fruit room.' A fruit room is simply a room that is meant to hold fruits and vegetables, mostly preserves (canned fresh fruits and vegetables.)  We know all of their bedrooms are upstairs and that they have a cellar where the washing machine resides - meaning the main floor of the house consists of a kitchen, a living room and a fruit room. It's never been revealed that they ever ate in a dining room but many times we know they ate at the kitchen table.

+ The Gooks had oatmeal for breakfast this day.

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+ Sade talks of Mis' McDrash from Dixon. She's a lady Sade knew who was always in a better humor when it rained. Sade's sister Bess Helfer said is was because "it eased her rheumatism." Bess read where a "big, pelting rain [did wonders for rheumatism.]" Yet we know (and they knew then) that wet weather generally has the opposite effect on people.

+ Russell says the taxi cab ride to his Sunday School will cost 25 cents. The initial starting taxicab fare in 2012 ranges anywhere from 8 to 13 times that amount.

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