The following was written by my late wife Elaine. She wrote a long book, a diary really, from which this is one passage:
Liberace, I Love Lucy, Muntz TV and “rabbit ears.” While Dave was overseas, my friend Carolyn L. and I went out every Saturday night to the Riviera movie theatre and the Waffle Shop, and Mom and I watched Liberace and I Love Lucy every weeknight on TV. Our first TV was a small black and white Muntz brand; I have a sort of pinup picture taken of me in my bathing suit standing in front of the new TV which I sent to Dave and I wrote on the picture, “Buy a Muntz.”
Any pictures of old TVs included “rabbit ears,” primitive antennas made of two rods attached to a round base, which sat on the top of TVs; the “ears” could be narrowed or widened, depending on which position brought in the best reception. And sometimes while watching our favorite programs I’d work on the argyle socks I was making for Dave. Again, like the first pair I made, they didn’t have much stretch in them because again I worked the color changes where you twist the new color around the old color too tightly. Advice to other young girls in love: Don’t knit socks for your boyfriend. They might not fit! Or learn to knit loose. Or just go and buy some.
To be continued…
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About the Author: RD Blakeslee is a nonagenarian in West Virginia who built his net worth by only investing in that which can be enjoyed during acquisition and throughout life, as opposed to papers in a drawer, like stocks and bonds. You can read more about him here.
Photos: Courtesy of the Blakeslee Family
Thank you Mr. Dave for sharing another sweet edition.
You’re welcome, Bill.
I remember those argyle sox. They were made of wool yarn and were merely hard to put on, until they got thrown in the wash, when they became impossible. Thereafter, they remained in the socks drawer for many years – I don’t remember how many, but it was many.
I
bet lots of folks have socks in their drawer to this day that they never wear and don’t even remember when they got them or where they came from.
When I “mustered out” of the army in 1953, Soldiers had to keep their military clothing for a number of years and serve in the reserve army corps, prior to actual discharge years later.
My khaki-colored socks were made of close-knit cotton with woolen foot padding. Like the argyles, they were inelastic and hard to put on, but they lasted forever (I think).