Lazy Sunday

Okay. I'll admit it. I'm totally lazy today. And I'm just now getting to my writing assignment. But it's Sunday. So, I've just been remembering.

When I was a kid, my dad always took a nap on Sunday afternoons. It was a quiet time. My mother told my two younger sisters and I that our father worked very hard and he needed his rest. So we were very quiet while he napped. Being unemployed myself at this point, I don't take a nap, but I could if I wanted. It would probably do me just about as much good as my job search has so far. But who's complaining? Back to the story.

Later that evening my father would fix supper and give my mother a rest. It was usually something really yummy like barbecued ribs, salmon croquettes or boiled shrimp. It was Sunday, after all. I remember on those Sunday evenings I would stand in the kitchen and watch my dad prepare everything. Sometimes he would even let me help with minor tasks.

We lived in a small, three-bedroom ranch in Independence, Missouri, that had a proportinally small galley kitchen. But, being small myself at the time, I was able to squeeze my bony little body between the end of the countertop and the refrigerator.

If you've forgotten how those countertops were made back in the early fifties, maybe this will spark your memory. (You'll understand that pun a bit later.) They were typically made with a plywood base with linoleum (ours was dark green) glued to the top surface. As a finishing touch, there was a chrome, L-shaped, ribbed band screwed along the edge. That served two purposes: it covered the vertical edge of the plywood, and it kept the linoleum from peeling up. This was long before Formica.

Anyway, when I stood there with my back against the fridge and my arms resting on the countertop, I always got a mild shock (there's that "spark" pun mentioned earlier) when I touched the metal edging. It wasn't bad, but it was enough to wake you up.

After supper we would settle back in the living room and turn on the old black-and-white Zenith console television and watch Disneyland on ABC. My favorites were those Walt would pick that featured a Donald Duck or Goofy or Mickey Mouse animated featurette. When that happened, life just didn't get any better. Those were the days.

And if you'd like to see something interesting, check out the video clip HERE! It's archival footage of construction at Disneyland back in the fifties. You're going to love it! Also, if you scroll down far enough on this site, you'll find another video on the right sidebar. It's a 9 minute clip from the very first Disneyland Television Broadcast. It was first aired in 1954.

Enjoy!