42-12-18 Vic and Dr. Keevy

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

Sade tries to sucker Vic to go on a trip to the Bijou (Gloria Golden, ugh!) and also visit Dr. Keevy's office, which has recently been refurnished. In the end though, Vic's well-documented fear of the dentist saves the day.

SEE THE SCRIPT: (part 1) (part 2)

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Until now, we've been under the impression that various Dr. Keevy's office rendezvous with Lolita di Rienzi and Pom Pom Cordova were all Vic's idea.  The script here suggests the original idea for using Keevy's office as a meeting place, belonged to Sade.

+ Gloria Golden and Four-Fisted Frank Fuddleman teamed up on screen for the flick, Kiss Oh Kiss These Lips of Mine, Assistant Trailer-Camp Manager Anderson.

+ Rush mentions the National Safety Council.  It sounds like they may have asked Paul Rhymer to include a PSA... and he double-crossed them:

+ Dr. Keevy's grand furnishings set him back $200. That's about $3000 today!

43-06-21 Vic Despises Little Daily Love Story

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND DAVID WHITEHOUSE 

Vic makes it known how much he hates the drivel of the Little Daily Love Story, reading gushing passages that reek with hyperbole.

SEE THE SCRIPT (part 1) (part 2)

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If you thought the Third Lieutenant Stanley novels were bad... just wait until you read the trash that Sade reads.

This script is missing it's ending, which is probably less than a page.

The real E.W. Smith of Emporia, Kansas appears to have been at the performance of this episode, as the script seems to point out that he was there; however, his buddy Paul Rhymer did not sign it, making me believe the writer was missing that day.

Trivia:

+ The Gloria Golden - Four- Fisted Frank Fuddleman film is named, High Society Hatred. Russell refused to attend, because the movie poster 'looked punk.'

+ Though the title of this episode indicates it's about Vic and the Little Daily Love Story, there's plenty of Russell telling about the acute sensitivity claims of his pal, Raymond 'Searles' (aka 'Surrells'):

• He can tell the temperature of the sun (can tell how many degrees it's lost).
• He can predict the weather in various cities.
• He can detect (by exact measurement) items put into his mouth.
• He can tell you the ingredients of a pill.
• He can tell what key a dog barks in.
• He can stand on a dime and determine if it's heads or tells.

This episode took place on the first day of Summer, 1943, yet Russell uses 'Christmas tree' twice.

43-12-14 Misery in Dismal Seepage, Ohio

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN, DAVID WHITEHOUSE AND MERRILL MAEL

• Vic: "It's simple as a horse, Sadie. The towns of Dismal Seepage, Ohio and Sick River Junction, Kentucky have this keen athletic rivalry.  They play some game called, "Misery" on January the twenty-sixth, a date commemorating the tragic disappearance of the entire town of Spider Plague, Missouri, which sunk without cause into the muddy waters of the Wretched Indian River during the coldest winter ever experienced in…"
• Uncle Fletcher: "I like the noon-hour – always did.  Sade, I expect you remember Art McSwitchel there in Belvidere and his opinion on the noon-hour.  This was Art McSwitchel – not Frank."
• Fletcher refers to Vic's friend "Mary" Greetcham, the Mayor of the City.  Vic: "His name is not 'Mary.'  His name is Robert.  Robert S. Greetcham.  Mayor Robert S. Greetcham."
• Fletcher wants Vic to ask the mayor for advice on his intention to sue the Little Tiny Petite Pheasant Feather Tea Shoppy.  He had ordered three weenie sandwiches, and the waitress neglected to put the condiments on the counter.  He was visiting with Ernie Fadler and ate all three weenies and then realized he hadn't added condiments.  Vic says Fletcher has no case.  Uncle Fletcher wants Vic to get "Mary's" opinion.
• Finally Vic gets to explain to Sade:  the members of the lodge's All-Star Marching Team have been asked to go to Dismal Seepage, Ohio for the game of "Misery" because everyone on the Sick River Junction team has died and the marching team is needed to substitute for the deceased. - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason  

SEE THE SCRIPT

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What's amazing is we have a tragedy - where the local holiday in Dismal Seepage is termed, "Misery" - and while Vic and his Marching Team are making plans to go to be a part of the remembrance, Uncle Fletcher (who we know was Merrill Mael in this episode) is oblivious to it all.

Look at the names of the places:

Dismal Seepage
Sick River Junction
Spider Plague
Wretched Indian River

Bill Idelson said this about grim situations and writer Paul Rhymer: (((HEAR)))

The concept of suing others in this show does not go unnoticed.  Blue Tooth Johnson once wanted to sue the Bijou and had done so previously (without luck.)  Rush also had a lawsuit all worked up in his head one time.  And now, Uncle Fletcher may sue over his three weenie sandwiches, sans condiments.

Uncle Fletcher previously referred to Mayor Greecham as "Mary" in this episode.

This episode was wonderfully recreated by the Radio Enthusiasts of Puget Sound in 1994 and can be heard here:  (((HEAR)))

Thanks to them.

SEE THE SCRIPT  (very large, be patient when loading)

44-07-05 Visiting Dignitaries

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND DAVID WHITEHOUSE

After finding a telegram from Honky J. Sponger (lodge headquarters) that had been sent hours earlier to his secretary, Vic rushes home from work to gather his lodge regalia and try and learn a speech from Volume 3 of his lodge library.

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The avid Vic and Sade listener will find many parallels with this episode and 39-01-02 Lodge Regalia Out On Loan, except, in the latter episode, his regalia wasn't at home but lent out to several people.

Trivia:

+ We find out that as of this date (July 5, 1944), Sade is 36 years old. In reality, actress Bernadine Flynn was closer to 42 years old in this episode, having been born January 2, 1904.

However, in this episode, Sade's birthday is August 20th and she was already 34 years old in 1934, meaning she would have been born in 1900 instead of 1904.  Who knows?

+ The Volume 3 official lodge greeting for a dignitary:
Oh lemon-colored messenger from celestial galaxies, oh sweet-fingered zither player from the skies, let the hem of your garment touch my flesh. Scream defiance to the yellow stars and kick your heels in savage delight. Crush a crazy moon between your great white teeth and roll your eyes at the Milky Way. Stop little brother, while the red...

The above is different from the official lodge greeting for a dignitary in Volume 7 of the lodge library, which you may recall:

Oh little frenzied brother of mine, bring your clutching hand and listen for the call of the golden oriole as the maiden stands by the splashing pool as the mischevious tarantella...

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42-02-17 Hank Gutstop, Hostess

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY,  BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

Vic comes home and invites Sade and Rush out to eat at the town's new restaurant, the Little Tiny Petite Pheasant Feather Tea Shoppy. Hank Gutstop has gotten a job there as a hostess!

Before the family can leave, Hank predictably calls up and informs Vic that he's already been fired because he ate six meals his first day before 5 o'clock!

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Another fun episode, probably in the top 15 best, although hampered again by horrible sound that cannot be fixed.

Trivia:

+ The film playing at the Bijou is Gloria Golden and Four-Fisted Frank Fuddleman in Take This Dropping Heart Of Mine, Assistant Straw Boss Williamson.
 
+ This is the first mention of the Little Tiny Petite Pheasant Feather Tea Shoppy, which is notorious in Vic and Sade.

The restaurant is located at Monroe and Madison Streets.

+ The restaurant is owned by Idler Grice, who also is the cook. This is the first time she has been mentioned.

+ The restaurant has just 3 tables.

+ Hank does not get a salary, instead he is to be paid in meals.

+ Sade says Hank is sometimes seen sleeping on the courthouse lawn, something that was not previously known.

+ Sade has blue eyes, according to Rush.

+ The meals at the restaurant are just 35 cents. The basic meal includes: soup, salad, meat, potatoes, two vegetables, dessert and a beverage.

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41-06-04 Grand Old Lodge Lady

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNRADINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

Vic never answered a lodge letter - which results in Sade being listed in the newspaper as the "Grand Old Lady of the Drowsy Venus Chapter" of Vic's lodge.

Despite Vic's attempts at hiding this fact, he can't hide it from Sade.

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A funny episode. All the lodge episodes are funny as something is always bound to happen.

Trivia:

+ Vic mounts suspicion on himself when he suggests the whole family go to the Bijou, something he rarely does.

+ Rush said that Vic made "about 40 mistakes" in their card game.

+ After Sade gets suspicious about her name possibly being in the paper, she asks: "Did the Lazy Hours Pool Parlor write another piece about me?" Later she asks if they wrote another piece about her eating nine saucers of cole slaw.

Interesting; can we assume one of the missing episodes includes an episode where Sade is written about, possibly in a Lazy Hours Pool Hall advertisement?

+ Rush and Smelly Clark make a date to go down to the YMCA to watch the fat men play handball.

+ The article in the paper:

The headquarters of the National Brotherhood of the Sacred Stars of the Milky Way, have named Mrs. V.R. Gook of Virginia Avenue as their Grand Old Lady of their local uniter, the Drowsy Venus Chapter.

Ceremonies will be held in the near future, during which tribute will he paid to Mrs. Gook's snow white hair and sweet wrinkled face. [Unitelligible] wisdom of old age will be glorified and Mrs. Gook's feeble, tottered footsteps...

🎙 Hear the Vic and Sadecast 079 – Grand Old Lodge Lady (11/18/17)

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41-02-16 Manual for Wives of Sky Brothers

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

The men on the Sacred Stars of the Milky Way Marching Team can do more than march. Take for example, Homer U. McDancey of East Brain, Oregon. He's written a book for the wives of Sky Brothers, a handy guide called, A Manual for Wives of the Sacred Stars of the Milky Way.  

MIS' CROWE SAYS:
Could the Lodge’s more eccentric members (Robert and Slobert Hink, J.J.J.J. Stunbolt, Hank Gutstop) come from nobler stock than we think? This episode just leads to further questions. All we can conclude about Homer U. McDancy from this episode is that he is incredibly out-of-touch. Most of the All-Star Marching Team, we know from a later episode, are bachelors, but McDancy’s assumptions in this manual about what wives need to know suggest that he hasn’t even met any modern middle-class women, let alone married them. Why this isolation from the larger society? Was his upbringing so far removed from the working class that he assumes all the women are dirty-faced slatterns who never sweep the floor? Or has he just surrounded himself with exclusively male company for so long that it’s warped his perception of things? This episode just adds to the mystery of where all these weirdos in Vic’s Lodge came from. 

I like how puzzled Vic is about how Headquarters let something as silly as this book through their rigorous editorial process. We have had plenty of ridiculous nonsense from Lodge Headquarters before this, so Vic shouldn’t be so surprised, but he does have a bit of a blind spot about his Lodge. Maybe seeing it through Sade’s eyes heightened its absurdity for Vic.

SEE THE SCRIPT

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For only $3.75, Sade can purchase the book. It is full of practical rules that all wives of Sky Brothers should live by.

Trivia:


+ Here are the rules stated in the pamphlet sent by the Sacred Stars of the Milky Way:

 + To be a true and loyal wife of a Sky Brother in the Sacred Stars of the Milky Way, Madam will takes pains with the neatness of her person. She will never appear in her husband's presence with soiled hands or a dirty face.

+ To be a true and loyal wife of a Sky Brother in the Sacred Stars of the Milky Way, Madam will refrain from stealing property belonging to others, using coarse language and engaging in rough street brawls.

+ To be a true and loyal wife of a Sky Brother in the Sacred Stars of the Milky Way, Madam will acquaint herself with The Treasury of Latin Phrases to be committed to memory and recited at meal times. Here are a few typical examples:

in hoc spittle dum cluck eve ad adra cola spinach es spogle raymond beirman ich ickle yam live tax om cornacopia feef

[Recall that Raymond Belcher Beirman was mentioned as a milk wagon driver (and bearer of bad news) in the episode, 41-01-21 Demise of Bernice. Now, he shows up in the middle of a "Latin" phrase!]

Some mashed potatoes Latin...
 {{{HEAR}}}

+ To be a true and loyal wife of a Sky Brother in the Sacred Stars of the Milky Way, Madam will see that her home is kept swept and dusted at all times. It is suggested Madam purchase a broom and use it regularly.

+ To be a true and loyal wife of a Sky Brother in the Sacred Stars of the Milky Way, Madam will at all times be cheerful, truthful and obedient. She will be on the alert to anticipate her husband's slightest wish.

+ While the book itself is $3.75. you can obtain an autographed book by Mr. McDancey for $4.25. A book and autographed photo of Mr. McDancey in full lodge reglaia for $5.10. And for $6.50 you can get an autographed book and an autographed photo of McDancey in full lodge regalia.

+ When Sade reads the "Latin" for "Would you mind passing the butter, please?" she says:

yah plummer e pluribus humor hoc in hoc signal vini vidi webster stockdale horse if extra curricular feef

+ Sade says H.K. Fleeber sent her a pair of easy slippers at Christmas addressed to: Charlie, Gus, Walter and Margaret. Rush says Mr. Fleeber sent him a pipe with no stem and it was addressed to: Hazel, Eddie, Herman and Fat.

+ Sade mentions that Y.Y. Flirch wears his shoes on the wrong feet (presumably from a non-surviving episode.)

+ There is another Gloria Golden-Four-fisted Frank Fuddleman feature at the Bijou:

Gazing Into Your Eyes Like This is Heaven, Assistant Umpire Drake.

[Recall that the last Gloria Golden and Four-fisted Frank Fuddleman feature we came across also involved an assistant umpire; the ever-popular, I Am Distracted With Love For You, Assistant Umpire Williamson.  That episode aired 26 days prior to this one.]

+ Every current member of the Sacred Stars of the Milky Way Marching Team was mentioned in this episode.

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41-01-21 Death of Bernice

STARRING: BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

Rush is very sad because Bernice has died. Who is Bernice? Bernice is the sister of Howard, the horse Mr. Gumpox uses to pull his trash wagon.

Sade thinks it's silly to care so much for a horse. But Uncle Fletcher, who talks to Rush on the telephone, is also sad.

MIS' CROWE SAYS:
The death of a horse sends a shock wave through a little community. 

Sade starts out pretty insensitive toward Rush, who is an adolescent and hasn’t learned not to feel everything yet. But do you notice how she lets up on him after the telephone conversation with Uncle Fletcher? It’s apparent that Fletcher is just as sad about this situation as Rush is. Sade still feels the whole thing is ridiculous, but has more respect for Uncle Fletcher’s feelings than Rush’s and decides to clam up after she sees that he’s feeling the same way as Rush.

A classic script that shows Rush’s sensitivity (or, maybe, if you’re feeling more cynical like Sade, Rush’s craving for the dramatic). Bill Idelson is very funny with the lugubrious tone he maintains throughout the episode. Not much more I can say except it’s one of my favorites.

SEE THE SCRIPT (transcribed by Lydia Crowe)

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Uncle Fletcher is especially fond of Howard - the brother of the deceased. Recall that it was probably Fletcher that bought Howard a brand new harness not too long ago.

Trivia:

+ The sad news about the demise of Bernice was distributed by Raymond Belcher Beirman, who was the milk wagon driver.

+ Bernice had been working for the Anderson-Carter Transit Company as a milk wagon horse.

+ Bernice died at 11:02 in the morning. According to Rush, Mr. Gumpox said that Howard stopped dead in his tracks at that moment, on the intersection of Evans Street (first time mentioned) and Kelsey Street.

+ Mr. Gumpox believes Howard will die soon.

+ Some interesting facts: Bernice was 16 years old. She was considered "good looking for a milk wagon horse" and had a "sunny disposition." She passed away quietly... Howard is currently 14 years old. Howard has a younger brother, Kenneth, who is grey like Howard. He is currently 9 years old and has a bad cough.

+ Uncle Fletcher's landlady is Mis' Keller. Her phone number is #5697-J.

+ At the Bijou, there's a Gloria Golden, Four-Fisted Frank Fuddleman feature: "I Am Distracted With Love For You, Assistant Umpire Williamson."

The sad phone call that Rush had with Uncle Fletcher: {{{HEAR}}}

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40-12-13 H. K. Fleeber's 48 Teeth

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

Vic has been given the opportunity to write for the Kitchenware Quarterly, The subject: H.K. Fleeber's 48 teeth, each from a different state in the union!

MIS' CROWE SAYS:
Vic is stuck writing another human-interest article for the Kitchenware Dealers’ Quarterly magazine. Rush, however, notices something awry in the article’s premise…

This is one of my favorites. It is a classic absurd Rhymerian premise and it has lots of very pleasing turns of phrase, my favorites being Rush’s dramatic “In the human mouth, Gov…” and Sade’s description of H.K. Fleeber opening his mouth and showing everybody “nine bushels of teeth.”

Like many of Paul Rhymer’s best premises, this one is not only ridiculous but also vaguely unsettling. Anything to do with dental work gives most people a little frisson of fear and loathing, and the idea that H.K. Fleeber may have had healthy teeth removed to get the job done is pretty ghoulish, especially when you consider the general state of dentistry at this time — I don’t know about all H.K. Fleeber’s dentists in all 48 states, but I know that when my dad was a kid in the 60s his dentist didn’t consider anesthesia a necessity. And then when Rush reminds us all that human beings have 32 teeth, and you think about the crowding in there, and the way he must look when he flashes a big smile…yeesh! Nightmare fuel, for sure.

In researching this episode I learned a new medical term, “hyperdontia,” which I suggest you do not Google image search, and also found the Guinness World Records entry for “Most teeth in a mouth." The record is shared by a lady from India and a lady from Italy, both of whom have thirty-five teeth. However, there are unconfirmed reports in the comments section of people with thirty-six, thirty-eight, and even forty-two teeth. Looks like H.K. Fleeber, with his forty-eight, still has the last laugh.

SEE THE SCRIPT (transcribed by Lydia Crowe)

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Another ridiculous premise from writer Paul Rhymer. This why we keep coming back to Vic and Sade - these ridiculous ideas and the silly names.

Trivia:

+ The letter written to Vic from the Kitchenware Quarterly was co-signed by G.J. Gick and G. Tillman Feed.

+ H.K. Fleeber is from Grovelman, South Carolina.  After lots of looking, I can find no such place.

+ While researching an opening line for his article, Vic reads that I.O. Flubber proposed to Opal Wheeler of the Maintenance Department.

+ Vic realizes the money-making potential in writing; after all, Jerry Richard Sickbrain of Plant 18 writes poetry gets 75 cents for every stanza he turns out.

+ Rush points out that humans only have 32 teeth and wonders how Fleeber could have 48 teeth.

+ Vic offers to send Sade and Rush to see the Gloria Golden, Four-Fisted Frank Fuddleman film, "I Shall Love Thee Evermore, Lieutenant Corporal Glush."

+ The sound quality of this episode is excellent.

Rush suggests how to fill up space for the article: {{{HEAR}}}

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