37-12-03 Rush Needs Money for Christmas Shopping

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

Christmas 1937

Rush has made a Christmas list.  He's whittled it down to the bone.  He's got very little cash to work with.

He's going to Plan B; all he has to do is get the dough from good ole' Gov -- well, make that, get past Sade in order to get it from Gov.  It's not an easy task.

SEE SOME DIALOGUE AND SYNOPSIS

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Rush knows Gov has a soft heart.  The trouble remains; Sade also knows Vic has a soft heart.
 
This episode compares in some ways with this one, a rather odd episode where Rush went to Vic's office to ask for Christmas funds.

That particular episode took place in 1941.  Let's look at the difference in lists between the two episodes:

 We can compare Rush's Christmas lists from 2 years

The price of Vic's gift remained the same.  Poor Vic, always getting the shaft.

Trivia:

* In the story about the imaginary 'Rollo K. Wintersquat' at the institution, Vic suggests he be sent some fudge.  That's not the only time someone locked away and fudge being sent to them are mentioned; Dottie Brainfeeble sent fudge to Martin Jordle, the man whose wife signed a paper and then the next thing he knew, he was in prison for 40 years.

* You wonder how good you can "get in" with a man by buying him a stinky, nickel cigar?

* "Bernardine" is once again mentioned in the script as an homage (you'd think) to  Bernardine Flynn. I'm almost certain that "Bernardine" was mentioned another time as well, but I'll be doggone if I can find the reference.

* Sade recalls Steve Kodunk in Dixon, whose father used to drown him with money.  He'd have a nickel or dime to spend every single recess and the kids would buzz around him like flies.

Hmmm.  You wonder how many kids would be swarming young Mr. Kodunk in 2015?  In the age of iPads and XBox, I'm guessing not a whole lot.

click to enlarge

* It's likely that this story line (or something like it) took place nearly every Christmas on the show.  I believe Rhymer eventually took Sade out of the equation because she's generally a major league frump when it comes to spondulix, plus the shows with just Vic and Rush (that we know about) all turned out to be genuine peachy episodes.  Certainly Rhymer knew
this or you'd think someone told him.

* This episode took place on the road, as did apparently, several other episodes during the latter end of 1937.  This episode was live from Kenosha, Wisconsin.  We are most fortunate (thanks to Barbara Schwartz and the Friends of Vic and Sade) to have an article from the local paper there from December 4, 1937.  The interview probably took place the same day this episode was broadcast.  [Dunno about you, but I love neat stuff like that.]

38-12-16 Rooster Davis' New Spectacles

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON 

While the Gooks wait for the noontime meat to get done,  Rush says that Rooster Davis came to school this day, wearing glasses.  That's not a big deal.

What is a big deal is how the glasses were attached to him.  Not by hooks around his ears, but by a very long black ribbon (more than 6 feet long) that was attached to a brooch with fake diamonds!

SEE THE SCRIPT

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The script begins with an unusual letter from Bess; this one goes into a bit of detail about Walter's kneecap and Bess even makes a joke, saying his kneecap has "gone off the reservation" - that is, his kneecap is on the "warpath."

For Bess, who doesn't make jokes (despite her literary "ha ha's")  that was a fairly special joke.

Horse!

RUSH: I could eat a fried horse, harness an' all.

and then later...

RUSH: I'll be delighted to make it plain as a horse. 

and then later... 

RUSH: I'll be delighted to make it plain as a horse why Rooster's glasses threw a bomb-shell that hit civilization. 

xx-xx-xx Rush Reveals Recent Exploits of Blue Tooth Johnson

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

• Rush tells tales on Blue Tooth Johnson. 
• He took his whole Sunday School class to lunch at the Purple Room inside the Butler House Hotel Restaurant. 
• He was sitting in study hall at 2:15 and went to sleep and fell out of his chair and landed on Leland Richards' foot that stuck out in the aisle - Leland, Mildred Tisdel and Eunice Raypole hollered in fright. 
• He was called on in class by Miss Monroe to answer a question but his upper jaw was glued to his lower jaw by some homemade taffy; he was sent to Mr. Chinbunny's office where his taffy was confiscated.  - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

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Blue Tooth is capable of almost any kind of mayhem.  He flies under-the-radar on the show; we tend of think of him as just a fellow that Rush tags along with to the YMCA to watch the fat men play handball.  But Blue Tooth's exploits run almost the full course of the series and though he's not a hoodlum, he certainly can find trouble of all shapes and sizes.  A look at his character at the character database wouldn't be a waste of time.

The date is unknown although the show aired prior to Rush leaving for the Navy.  The title is not known and the one given here was made up by me, purely for identification purposes.  That being said, I still had detailed notes on the episode but critical data was missing.

44-01-27 Ruthie's Feet are Growing!

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND  DAVID WHITEHOUSE

• Vic suggests since gorillas are three times stronger than a man, they'd make great pitchers in the major leagues.  Russell thinks no catcher could handle the powerful pitches.  Vic's solution: train another gorilla to catch.
• Sade: "… dull as my undershirt."
• Sade confesses to nine million thoughts during the day that she'd like to share with Vic, but they slip her mind – like the fact that Ruthie's taking larger size shoes now.  She won't say how big.
• Sade: "I bet nineteen evenings out of every week I rack my brains after supper wondering what on earth it was I particularly wanted to talk over with Vic… and twenty evenings out of every week I just hafta give up.  Why don't I just grab a pencil and jot down this trash?  It's like when you're in bed and so thirsty you'd give nine thousand dollars for a sip of cold water, but you've been asleep and it's warm under the covers and you just can't bring yourself to put your feet out on the cold floor and walk in the dark to the bathroom to the hydrant.  You lay there and suffer."  
• Sade: "It's the biggest tragedy since Adam left Detroit, Michigan."
• Sade mentions Rodgers shoe store.
• Ruthie took pride in her tiny feet, but she's upset because she's gone from size four-and-a-half to six-and-a-half – now what?
• Sade: "the size shoe Ruthie Stembottom wears today is her property and the property of the angels."  - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

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A recent study shows that men are most attracted to women with the shoe size of "5." 

Having small feet is very important to the women in the Thimble Club.  The women with small feet have been known to be harassed the women with the larger feet (as was the case in 40-01-09 Sade Muses on Her Friendship with Mis' Scott) as Sade tells about Mis' Wyatt and Mis' Wheeler messing with Ruthie because of her small foot size.  So having a larger shoe size can be damaging to the ladies.

41-xx-xx How Neighbor Ladies Greet Each Other When on the Outs

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

Over a "game" of Rummy, Sade chronicles the neighborhood ladies' friendships with each other.

SEE THE SCRIPT

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The friendships go something like this:

click to enlarge

Rush gets upset with Sade because while she's "playing" cards, she's not actually playing any cards.  I'm quite sure it upsets Vic also but since Rush is already making it known that Sade's holding up the game, he bites his lip.