11/5/14

Stefano had been seeing both Gina and Ramona Fallducci over the course of the summer and chose November 1st as the day he would finally decide which one to stick with... Let's just say that only one of the gals walked away from this precipice....

Emmaline found life at the Kenya Animal Preserve a great deal more civilized and with more modern conveniences than she'd originally expected. It's just that getting ready for dinner in front of an audience took some getting used to...

Knowing that she had to see Mel off at the airport from the runway itself, Gwen opted for two coats of Move-Knott Ultra Mist hairspray, lest her newly-coiffed style would be punished by the backdraft of nearby jet engines.

Before committing to another pregnancy, Veronica tested the waters of Jeffrey's compatibility to a new sibling by introducing him to a small baby doll. After krazy-gluing the ear back on, she opted to wait another six months before trying it again.

Realizing that it would thrill young Ira to bits, Rosalie got up extra early Christmas morning and slipped into the living room just in time to see Santa Claus squatting before the fireplace, ready to ascend and head to the next home.

What would have been a monumental moment for Valerie was spoiled when she overheard her soon-to-be mother-in-law Stella Fae remarking to her relatives that Valerie was a terrible cook whose best moments in the kitchen involved a foil tray and a toaster oven!

11/3/14

Janice was so happy that Kermit and Ronda showed up for dinner a couple of weeks before Christmas as she always relied on Kermit to supply the tree-topper. This year, he even managed to ensure that the BB pellets landed in the back of the bird, so it would still look great from the front!

Poor Evelyn really did think that the cardboard paddle fans in the Historic Salem Gift Shoppe were complimentary and as it was such a warm afternoon, she took one, but it wound up costing her dearly in the end...

No mere paper route as an after-school job for Renee. She was hired on as the pre-suppertime Western Union telegram delivery girl down at The Raleigh Arms Hotel, where her skill at announcing names later developed into a semi-career as St. Catherine's principle Bingo caller.

No one believed Farfel when he said that the barn was on fire, nor when he claimed that the river was rising, but if The Dennysons wanted to survive this oncoming grizzly bear attack, they'd better listen up and run for cover quickly!!

Shiny the Clown thought having a large pillar candle instead of a dinky one might help Ramon to be able to blow it out on his birthday, but along with the height and girth came a larger wick and the flame was simply too powerful for his slobbery little wheezes to eliminate!

Hiram didn't believe it should take so long for little boys to become men, so he signed up his grandson Greg at the naval academy, sharing a quick pipe smoke together before the bus departed...

10/31/14

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Special bonus photos today!

It was a particularly fruitful day of crime-fighting for detective Dick Tracy, who managed to nab both King Kong and a local witch in one quick turn around the city.

And so the frenzied finale of the Miss Shelley Idaho pageant resulted in a first-ever tie, with Mrs. Russet awarding both Peg and Pat a cash prize...

With The Leak Family's annual pumpkin carving event under way, Dickie worried and wondered how long it would be before his sister Trina realized that during the long wait for the festivities to end, he'd already "gone" in hers!

It was close, but Mrs. Foreman almost didn't manage to hide the full-size candy bars in time for the kids with the cruddy costumes who were headed up the walk.

Betty was so proud of her expensive, hand-made unicorn costume, but as the night wore on, she became increasingly dismayed as party guests kept coming up to her and asking her to sing a verse of "Memory"...

Although Daniel and Danielle were fraternal twins, they nonetheless enjoyed dressing alike all the way from infancy to that last year of college.

While it's true that Barb took longer than other Girl Scouts to win them, she did finally earn her badges for housecleaning and hair styling, thanks to her mentors, Yvette and Bonnie Sue.

Though ultimately it was cut from the Walt Disney film adaptation, a little known fact is that while Perdita was pregnant with 101 Dalmatians, Pongo suffered sympathy weight gain right along with her.

Knowing that the name "The Village People" was already claimed by one music group, this gaggle of folks from Backwater Falls, Pennsylvania ultimately settled on The Hamlet People for their band.

During all the hubbub of the 1988 Gary Hart scandal, Nancy Reagan lay awake at night worrying that this snapshot of Ronnie might be made public and focus unwanted attention on her husband's own active social life during his time in The White House!

10/29/14

As it turned out July fourth was as long as Armando could wait to use the moss green icing he'd picked up at 50% off on Arbor Day at Remke's that April. 

Helena was still miffed about the bad block that Irene had given her during that day's field hockey match and decided to take it up with her back in the locker room.

One thing Bethel loved about staying at the Route 23 Doze 'n Goze Motor Lodge was that each morning a complimentary serving of coffee was delivered to each guest's door, complete with a patch of leftover tinfoil on top of the carafe to keep it good 'n hot!

Decades before anyone coined the term "going green," Marion thought she'd recycle Will's newspapers in to a party dress. The problem was, Will's friend Hugh kept looking under her hemline in order to "read the funny pages!"

Hillary was ready to call it a night and head off to bed, but Patrice wouldn't let her even think of the idea until she regaled the dinner guests with a spirited rendition of "Animal Crackers in my Soup."

Yes, Rona might have been courting trouble camping all by her lonesome out at Mount Hyman Forest and Blue Gill Reserve, but after all, she had her vicious guard dog Claw with her to ward off any unwanted attention.

10/27/14

Cliff rose at 4:30am in order to get to his favorite fishing hole at Glory Springs, but never did catch a single fish. Along about 9:15, he did hook himself a park ranger, though!

Cy and Meece came up with the hare-brained idea of fixing their basketball with Krazy Glue and then listening closely to hear if air was escaping. From this point on, their close friendship became even more solidified...

While Dianne deeply appreciated the wedding present that her maid of honor Georgia created especially for her and her new husband Henri, upon closer inspection, some of the pale blue numbers didn't get completely covered up, nor did the paint that came with the kit completely cover the entire span of the "canvas."

His potty training long behind him, Petey next decided to demonstrate to everyone in the household his brand new mastery of going number one in the "urinal!"

On their way to the park for a photo shoot to promote their latest folk album, The Quail Family asked Grandma to snap a quick Polaroid of them at home so that they could preview their hair and clothing.

Though he ultimately emerged from this with little permanent damage, this would indeed be the last time that Raymond would interfere with Clubber, the family's Great Dane, during supper time...

10/24/14

Volunteer targets at The Veering Arrow Archery Range had it made. Not only did they earn $12.50/hour, but not one of the customers in Myopia, Illinois was good enough with a bow to come anywhere close to them while they posed in formation.

Edna Lou stepped outside to check on her begonia and daffodil bed only to find that Scudder had decided to convert the entire area into a bed of his own!

And so everyone gathered to wish Wilhelmena good luck on her pending voyage back to the old country. For some of the gals, though, like Charmaine for example, the boat couldn't slip out of the harbor fast enough...

Santa had been so good to Gwen, bringing her the tap shoes she'd had her eye on for months, that she immediately donned them and hurled herself into a Cincinnati time step right there near the tree.  Unfortunately, one of her stray steps landed on her mother Eileen's delicate bottle of L'Air du Temps perfume, crushing it into gravel before she'd worn even one drop.

Rodney was so thrilled with the view, not only of the lake, but of all the curvy ladies on hand as well, that he thought he'd better make sure his enthusiasm wasn't showing too much...

And so as Grandpa Wally told the story once more of how Elise left her roller skates on the second from the top step of the basement stairs, Arnold found it hard to contain his disdain for the unrepentant little girl.

10/22/14

Rico loved his new car with cruise control and sometimes on boring, lengthy stretches of road, he'd click it on and take a short cat nap rather than stay upright the whole time...

The Buttram sisters, Patsy and Fanny, always did as they were told, even at the leisurely family river camp, so when they saw a barrel that read "Cans Only," that's what they decided to put there!

Nancy's time with the Quazuli tribe had been fun and all, with them teaching each other several things during her stay, but as the livestock supply dwindled and with some lip-smacking stares headed her way, she figured it was time to move on before the next supper-time arrived.

Even though the rain had finally let up, Aunt Dorothy made quite clear her feelings about Gene and Debbie's decision to hold an outdoor wedding in mid-April...

Stefanie was having a whale of a time at Cyprus World, but for reasons unknown to her, she could never get her mother Bonnie Fae too close to the water attractions. She seemed to have an aversion to mist or any time of sprinkling.

One of the benefits of living in a small town like Red Cross, North Carolina was the fact that a simple occasion like Claire heading off to nursing school brought out the entire cheerleading squad for a rousing send off!

10/20/14

Hangeford Primary School had strict rules when it came to taking responsibility for one's actions. Since Meredith was the one who broke the rope swing on the playset, it was up to her to stand in its place until it could be repaired...

Never was Myrtle more annoyed with herself than the day she soared past Clem Larson's Filling Station for charging too much and proceeded up into the Poconos on an eighth of a tank.

Darlene was highly miffed that she alone was asked to sit at the kitchen table and not the dining room table with the rest of The Bickersons on Thanksgiving, especially since she'd brought along her treasured gourd candle-holders to help dress things up for the holiday...

Cynthia couldn't believe her luck in finally getting to eat with the grown-ups after being banished so long to the kiddie table and kept looking over her shoulder to be certain it wasn't some sort of joke. 

Irritated that Whizzer had decided to roll in the flower bed that morning, Pete had to fill up the sink and give him a bath, but, in the end, Pete wound up getting hosed down a little bit himself!

After careful inspection, it was official. Harry Nuttzach had clearly decided to come to the beach that day without benefit of his athletic supporter and caused a minor sensation among onlookers...