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“Siblings: children of the same parents, each of whom is perfectly normal until they get together.”

I’m still being held prisoner by the heat. Even the dog makes short trips outside. Today is far less humid than it was, but it is still hot. Tonight, movie night, is supposed to be much cooler. We have a doozie tonight. Each summer we watch a movie so bad it’s funny. Last year it was The Thing with Two Heads. Tonight’s is a spoof of 50’s B movies called The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra. Two of the characters have the best names: Kro-Bar and Lattis. They are from the planet Marva and are now stranded on Earth in need of the element atmosphereum to repair their powerless spaceship. A human hybrid made from four animals is one of my favorite characters. It’s name is Animala, of course it is. Ranger Brad in his wide brim Ranger hat is another great character. I’ll not tell you any more so as not to spoil it but I’m warning you that a sense of the absurd is a necessity. If you love good movies, this isn’t the one to watch.

I loved the dinner scenes in all the family shows I watched as a kid. Every night the whole family sat around the table. The mother always took her apron off before she sat down. Mostly the family ate some sort of a roast, mashed potatoes and vegetables. Sliced bread was always on the table. The Cleavers ate in the dining room. The Andersons ate in the kitchen. I don’t remember where the Nelsons or the Stones ate. Mostly I remember Ozzie standing in the living room talking in that hesitant way of his with Harriet or the boys. The well-bred Cleaver boys always asked permission to leave the table. I thought that was funny. I couldn’t imagine needing permission to leave the table. In our house it was eat and go.

I never compared my family to TV families. I knew those families weren’t real. Seldom did siblings fight or call each other names. Nobody ever yelled. Not one kid stomped up the stairs in anger. Fathers reasoned with their children about bad behavior. No one was ever grounded. Wally asked Ward for advice, and he listened. Ward was wise. All fathers were wise.

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8 Comments on ““Siblings: children of the same parents, each of whom is perfectly normal until they get together.””

  1. Christer.'s avatar olof1 Says:

    August 1, 2015 at 2:24 pm

    We’ve had quite a lovley day here, a bit high humidity until the afternoon but it was tolerable even when it was a bit high.

    I’ve tried to find The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra here but they don’t sell it Im afraid. I have seen parts of it on Youtube though and it is hilarious 🙂 🙂 🙂

    I always found it strange that the families always more or less sat on the same side of the table 🙂 If we all sat down at the same time we were spread all around it. I did eventually understand that it wouldn’t be good tv to show the backs of the people 🙂 🙂 The European shows however had lots of angry kids stomping up the stairs and sibling fights, we have always liked it a bit more dramatically and love sad endings 🙂

    Have a great day!
    Christer.

    • katry's avatar katry Says:

      August 1, 2015 at 10:24 pm

      Christer,
      I’m jealous. I want a lovely day. Around 3 o’clock I turned off the air thinking there was a nice breeze. Within 40 minutes the temperature in the house went up 5˚ so the AC went right back on.

      The crowd roared at the movie. They laughed as they said they wanted a really bad move, and they got one!

      In the 50’s TV families were ideal, totally unlike real families. I never gave it a thought about no backs, but I see it now that you’ve mentioned it.

      Hope your day was a good one!

  2. Morpfy's avatar Morpfy Says:

    August 1, 2015 at 6:10 pm

    Tasty Turkey Chili

    1 large onion
    2 tablespoons corn oil
    1-1/4 pounds fresh ground turkey (ground without skin)
    1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced
    2 teaspoons chili powder
    1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
    1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
    1 15-ounce can pinto beans
    1 15-ounce can black beans
    1 14-1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice, undrained
    1 6-ounce can tomato paste
    1 14-l/2-ounce can chicken broth
    1 cup frozen corn kernels
    4 to 5 green onions (scallions)

    Peel and chop onion with the help of your assistant.

    Pour oil into Dutch oven or large saucepan.
    Place pot on burner.
    Turn heat to medium.Heat oil for 1 minute.

    Add onions to hot oil.Cook over medium heat,stirring occasionally with wooden spoon,for 5 minutes,or until onion is almost clear.
    Add ground turkey to pot.tir with a wooden spoon,breaking up large pieces.
    Brown turkey for 5 minutes,stirring often.
    Stir in garlic powder or garlic, chili powder,black pepper,and cumin until well combined.
    Open cans of pinto and black beans;pour both into large strainer.
    Place strainer under cold running water.Rinse beans thoroughly and drain.
    With wooden spoon,stir beans,tomatoes and their juice,tomato paste,chicken broth,and corn into pot.
    Heat 5 to 7 minutes,or until thoroughly hot, stirring often.
    Rinse and slice green portions of green onions.You should have about l/2 cup.
    Stir green onions into pot.
    Remove from heat.
    Ladle hot chili into bowls.Serve with green salad and cornbread.

    Yield: 8 one-cup servings.

    • katry's avatar katry Says:

      August 1, 2015 at 10:31 pm

      Morpfy,
      This is a great recipe which I have saved. I’m thinking this winter. Mine, however, won’t have any beans. I don’t like beans of any kind, never have even since I was a kid.

      I love the addition of corn.

      Thanks, Morpfy!!!

  3. Bob's avatar Bob Says:

    August 1, 2015 at 7:02 pm

    Our family dinner table was not anything like the meals eaten onTV. My father never wore a tie and my mother never wore pearls. My mother never sat down until she served everyone and then she would get up during dinner to supervise the meal. If one of us weren’t eating our portion she would ask, “You’re not eating your potatoes, what’s the matter, you don’t like my potatoes?” If I answered that I liked them, she would plop another scoop on my plate and remind me of the starving children in China. We were always served a portion of guilt with our meals.

    Robert Young suffered a nervous breakdown as a result of not being able to live up to his character, Jim Anderson, in his real family.

    My favorite family was the Williams, with Danny Thomas in ‘Make Room for Daddy’. For some reason I could identify my family with them. Also, I liked the George Burns and Gracie Allen show. They had a fun family comedy program where I don’t remember them eating together. I always wanted a TV that would spy on my family members. George Burns lived to 100 because he said he was booked and he was the ultimate straight man. “Say goodnight to the folks Gracie”.

    • katry's avatar katry Says:

      August 1, 2015 at 10:37 pm

      Bob,
      My mother was the same and sometimes she just stood at the counter to eat. I love the mother in A Christmas Story who is up and down the entire meal. As soon as she sits, someone needs something then she gets up and tries to sit again, and this happens over and over.

      I went looking for more about his life and death and found this site. It is a bit odd:

      http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/y/Robert%20Young/robert_young.htm

      I also liked George and Gracie. I thought it was a neat idea that he spoke to us directly about what was happening in the show. It was fun. Gracie was a hoot.

      • Bob's avatar Bob Says:

        August 2, 2015 at 11:28 am

        There was a famous story about Gracie showing her friend the surprise new Silver tea set she received from George. She told her friend that she will have to wait for the tea cart that goes with the tea set until George has another affair.

      • katry's avatar katry Says:

        August 2, 2015 at 12:55 pm

        Bob,
        That’s a funny story!


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