Dad
Dad’s love of reading was obvious yet he could appear to some as an intellectual snob when he referred to the TV as this.
What is the idiot box?
Mom always sacrificed on her own personal purchases in favor of Dad and us kids, but she had a difficult time finding bargain shoes for herself due to this.
What was the unavailability of her shoe size- a 9 AAAA?
Washing dishes was our nightly chore. When ready for assistance we would cry out this one word.
What is “dryer!”
Mom and Dad diligently taught us our manners, but Jim displayed his early stubborn streak when he refused to say this word.
What is please?
Before phone numbers were digital only, these were the phone exchanges for Wheaton and Glen Ellyn.
What are Montrose 8 and Hopkins 9?
Frequent Christmas and birthday gifts from the kids to Dad were white hankies and this brand of aftershave.
What is Old Spice?
Mom loved shopping for bargains on our Easter apparel but not if only available in this color which she hated.
What is purple?
Summer evenings were the rare times when the boys would tolerate the girls in an outdoor neighborhood game called this.
What is Release?
Dad was a stickler for everyone being on time for dinner. If we came to the table late we suffered this consequence.
What is standing behind our dining chair and reciting grace out loud by ourself?
We were generally very good students but Pat barely passed this high school course with a D grade.
What is Drivers Ed?
Many a summer evening Dad would follow his beloved Cub games with this unique setup.
What is watching the muted TV and listening to the radio broadcast because he didn’t like the TV commentators.
Mom spent hours ironing our clothes. Before she had a steam iron or aerosol to help, she used this accessory.
What is her sprinkling bottle? It was made from a water-filled coke bottle with a cap similar to a watering can spout.
We all attended St. Mikes but kindergarten was not offered. Name the schools where the big kids went.
What were Loretta Convent and Emerson for Anne, Emerson for Bob and Jim, and Holmes for Pat?
We were often allowed a treat on Saturday evening of splitting a bottle of coke with a sibling. Bob enforced this rule of fairness.
What is the person who did not pour the coke got to choose first which glass to take?
This incident prompted Mom to react quickly and rush to the vet’s office with kids and dog.
bonus for naming the dog.
What was the accident when our dog Chris was hit in the head with an axe when Bob and Lee were fooling around in the side yard?
Back in the day what brand of cigarettes did Dad smoke?
What are Chesterfields?
Facing college costs for the 4 older kids, Mom re-entered the workforce with this job. $100 bonus for naming her boss she didn’t really care for.
What is being a typist for a collection agency?
Who is Annette Lawson?
It seems like we spent every summer vacationing at Lake Ripley. However, one summer Mom and Dad decided we would join the Murdoch family at this lake instead.
What is Brown’s Lake?
As teens and college kids we did not normally have a strict curfew. However, this misstep incurred the rath of Dad as never before seen followed by a rare grounding.
What is Bob taking off on his motorcycle and not returning home until 2 in the morning?
Mom and Dad decided to save money on the boys summer haircuts and purchased a home barber kit. The end result was not very professional but, not to worry, this product came to the rescue.
What is brown shoe polish?
Dad liked hosting a Friday night poker game which inevitably included this midnight ritual.
What is Mom serving the men meat sandwiches because every Friday back then was meatless.
Mom frequently used this unusual word when hurriedly picking up clutter and telling us kids “I just want everything to be ________ when Dad gets home”.
What is copacetic?
Teasing each other was an everyday occurrence but rarely could we outdo Bob at this game. Our opportunity came when his annual skin affliction broke out and we would sing this song.
What is “There was a Fungus Among Us?
With so many drivers and only one car there were countless arguments, especially on weekends. However, the situation was never once resolved with this solution.
What is “let’s let Pat have the car tonight?”
Mom usually bargain shopped and brought much food from home when packing for Lake Ripley. However, she packed this food item (the first few years at least) not based on price but because it was not sold in Wisconsin.
What is margarine or oleo? Wisconsin at that time sold only real butter to promote dairy farms.