43-12-09 Winter Picnic Plans

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND DAVID WHITEHOUSE

• B. B. Baugh calls, suggesting a winter picnic.  Vic (at end of call): "Bee bee, bye bye – I mean Bye, bye, B. B."
• Vic tells Sade and Russell they're not invited.
• The picnic's only for the Sweet Esther, Wisconsin crowd.
  B. B. Baugh and Pom Pom Cordova were born there.
• Russell: "I heard of a fella that went to Colorado with the idea of staying an hour and a quarter and ended up staying forty-seven years."  Sade: "Um."  Russell: "That case is on record, and the public is welcome to go to Washington, D. C. and read all the details in the Congressional Record."   Sade: "I guess I'll do that."  Russell (approvingly):  Uh-huh, and you could visit Grant's tomb at the same time."  Vic: "Grant's tomb is in New York."  Russell: "I disagree."  Vic: "O. K."  
• The invited crowd: Sade suggests: Dr. Keevey, Lolita DiRienzi.
• Russell suggests: "Our grocery boy, Irvin, Miss Hammersweet and the girl at the cigar counter."
• Vic says two more who share Sweet Esther as their birthplace have been uncovered: Mis' Harris' roomer, Mr. Breep, and Fern Mudstudy, the girl that plays the piano at the Ten Cent store (born 11-21-1910.)
• Russell lists all eight invitees: "grocery boy Irvin, Fern Mudstudy, Vic, Pom Pom, B. B. Baugh, Morgan Perron, the girl at the cigar counter in the Unity Building, Mis' Harris' roomer, Mr. Breep, and Mis' Olive Hammersweet (Vic's secretary.)
• Sade notes there'll be two musicians there: Pom Pom and Fern.  Vic doubts they'll take a piano out in the woods.
• Russell: "The Chicago & Alton shop employees had an outing at Howton's Lake, and they hauled a piano there on a truck."
• Sade bristles when Vic says "four boys and four girls". Russell says it's 1 boy, 3 men, 3 girls, and a woman.
• Mr. Breep telephone Vic, who suddenly realizes he wasn't born in Sweet Esther, Wisconsin.  He was born in Union Grove, Illinois. - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

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Strange doings.  Take a long look at the list of folks on the picnic... look up some particulars at the Character site. There is a definite theme with the picnic - the people's names, their occupations and where they come from are all important. 

Trivia:

+ Fern Mudstudy will later be mentioned in an episode and her description will be nearly identical.

44-06-07 Elkskin Shoe Laces

STARRING: BERNARDINE FLYNN AND CLARENCE HARTZELL

Sade "plays hooky", sits in the sunshine on the back porch and talks nonsense with Uncle Fletcher. Meanwhile, Mr. Donahue is asleep next door with his window open - don't talk so loud...

Uncle Fletcher touts he must have his shoe laces changed (with elkskin laces) but must go to the shoe repair place to do it..

GARRY MOTTER WRITES:

To me this is one of Uncle Fletcher's finest tirades, and that is saying something.  The episode is masterfully crafted, as the great comedy of it lays in its pacing.  Rhymer has constructed it like the slow movement of a concerto.  It starts out literally in whispers, then gradually progresses to lazy talk about nothing much.  It takes a tense turn when we think we are going to hear about Ernie Sweeler's sad demise, but we are spared that, and it calms down  again.  But this is a feint on Rhymer's part.  Suddenly he throws in the brass and tympani, as Uncle Fletcher takes offense.  He gives us the "A" theme of elk skin shoelaces, and after developing that, introduces the "B" theme of the lacing methodology.  The two themes duke it out a while, then intertwine at Chalfer's shop, where they combine climactically.  Those themes spent, the introductory notes of  Mr. Donahue are recapitulated and all ends calmly, with a little hint of a minor-key ending ("I hope so, too.  I hope so, too").

SEE THE SCRIPT (transcribed by Garry Motter) 

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Very slow and easy Vic and Sade episode; it lacks excitement yet is fun all the same.

Uncle Fletcher seems to have a considerable interest in shoes and especially shoe laces in the series.
 
Trivia:

+ Sade describes the weather as "warm yet it's cool."

+ Ernie Sweeler (from Belividere) was mentioned. He died at age 65.  He used to say, "If someone's got something nice, mention it."

+ Bert Chalfer owns and runs Chalfer's Shoe Repair on West Washington Street; he and his store are mentioned for the first time; the map has been changed to reflect this. 

+ Elkskin shoe laces are replaceable only with strength and years of practice and take two solid hours of work to replace.

+ Morgan Perrin of Downer's Grove was mentioned. He came up with a fancy knot (the Cincinnati overhand triple lock) and was uncle to Homer Heck (probably the Oklahoma Homer Heck.)

+ The word "delicious" is used 4 times in this episode, none of those times was food being described.

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