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November 03, 2005
Nothing like marital advice from the Kramdens
Admittedly, I was too young to enjoy 'The Honeymooners' when they originally aired but fortunately it was one of the few sitcoms we were allowed to watch while visiting the kleptomaniac great grandmother. Of course, we had to also watch our belongings at the same time, but today I was reminded of the wisdom of the Honeymooners.
So many marriages in the 1950's were built upon a false premise: complete bliss. Ozzie and Harriet, Leave it to Beaver, and Make Room for Daddy all sugarcoated the sacred union, but 'The Honeymooners' accurately portrayed reality with a laugh track. I know, the veiled threat of spousal abuse always bothered me too ("Too the moon, Alice, to the moon!), but if you think about what happened on 'Roseanne', it isn't that much different.
Three times a week, I have the unique opportunity to treat "Alice" while "Ralph" watches from the kitchen table. The constant bickering, sarcasm, and reparte keeps me laughing the entire session. "Alice" digs at "Ralph" about not changing the filters, he interrupts her with a threat of no coffee to which she responds with a huffed sigh and a mumbled "I'll give you no coffee in a minute" with a clenched fist. This continues for 45 minutes, climaxing with the inevitable raised toned argument about visiting relatives' bad snoring or someone's lack of responsibility with the indoor dog.
Often they provide contradictory marital advice, mostly unsolicited. In turn, that sparks yet another argument while the dog bounces between them to garner favor. Their curiosity about modern marriages and celebrity gossip usually brings about an intense discussion on my generation's complete disregard for vows, fidelity, and common decency. I remind them that Frank Sinatra wasn't a choir boy, celebrities in their era didn't have 24 hour cable publicity, and marriages forty years ago were often unhappy isolation for many people.
The one piece of advice they bellowed between debating who makes better scrambled eggs I think I will keep for the next fifty years is this:
Marriage is like a leather belt: at first it's stiff and hard to fit, but over time it adjusts, softens, and endures all.
Doesn't hurt that you can beat someone with a belt, either, "Ralph" added.
Posted by Tish at November 3, 2005 05:00 PM
Comments
Geez, Louise!
I think the Honeymooners are a hoot, though.
Posted by: Mike at November 3, 2005 07:54 PM
I remember them well and we are often compared to them by our children. 42 years of bickering every day - but we love each other.
Posted by: kenju at November 3, 2005 10:21 PM
What does a bachelor have to add to this? ;)
Posted by: Skunkfeathers at November 4, 2005 09:58 AM
The neat thing was, Alice was never afraid. So that made Ralph's threats funny, but meaningless otherwise.
Posted by: old horsetail snake at November 4, 2005 02:08 PM
like the leather belt theory :)
Posted by: Staircase365 at November 4, 2005 02:31 PM