Then and Now

A friend of mine stopped by the office yesterday, and an interesting subject was brought up. Which I told him would make a good topic for today. At first he got all huffy, but when I told him I would give credit where credit is due, he relented and gave me the go ahead (like I wouldn’t have written this if he had said “no.” Yeah, right!). So, thanks to Jeff, I will now begin.

Jeff was doing an impression for me, and since I know pretty much everything about tv (even old tv), I was able to correctly identify it as Schneider from One Day at a Time. This led to a discussion which I would like to share. Don’t you think it is kind of weird that this perverted so-called landlord/maintenance man was able to just walk into the home of a single mom and her two teenage daughters whenever he felt like it?? I mean, I can remember episodes when the mom was just getting out of the shower, and there was Schneider. And he always seemed to be leering at Valerie and Mackenzie. Gross. Didn’t their mom think that this was kind of inappropriate? I would think that if that happened today, instead of a laugh track, Schneider would be hearing the clink of a prison door. But hey, apparently in the 70’s it was fine and dandy.

And what about probably the biggest 70’s icon of all – Fonzie?? How old was he supposed to be, anyway? We all know that Richie, Potsie and Ralph were in high school, but Fonzie wasn’t. I’m not really sure whether he was supposed to have graduated, or if he was a dropout. Either way, he was supposed to be older, and hence, “cooler.” So there was Fonzie, a twenty-something guy with a leather jacket and a motorcycle. Who lived over the Cunningham’s garage and (just like Schneider) thought nothing of wandering into Mr. C’s home unannounced. But my main problem with Fonzie was the fact that with the exception of Pinkie Tuscadero, all the girls he dated were apparently still in high school. And looked to be about sixteen. Now, if you had a sixteen year old daughter, would you let her go out with a guy like Fonzie? Or would you have him arrested and file a restraining order? And don’t even get me STARTED on the way he treated those poor girls. Expecting them to come running whenever he snapped his fingers. How degrading!!

If you think about it, Fonzie wasn’t even that cool. Sure, he could turn on the jukebox with his fist, but his “office” was a bathroom in a burger joint. Thankfully, he cleared it out before conducting business, but you have to wonder, given the greasy burgers served there, just how (ahem) “aromatic” his office really was. He did have a job – supposedly he was a mechanic. But let’s face it, even though they often showed him in a garage smeared with grease, it didn’t really seem to me that he worked your standard 9-to-5 hours. So I can’t imagine him exactly rolling in dough. Even though he probably lived rent-free by schmoozing the Cunnighams. Just because he had good (for those days, at least) hair and said “Heyyyy” a lot doesn’t make him cool. Then again, he DID win the dance-a-thon…

Going back a bit to the late 60’s, let’s look at the Bradys. Why is it that even though Mike was an accomplished architect, and obviously made a lot of money (hey, they had a maid, right?), he couldn’t figure out a way to put an extension on the house to give the kids their own space? (And don’t tell me he redid the attic, or gave up his den, because we all know those were pathetic attempts to pacify Greg.) The least he could’ve done was add on an extra bathroom or two. (Hell, even MY father was able to out in an extra bathroom in our old house!) And why didn’t the bathroom the kids shared have a toilet? Did you ever notice THAT one? Seriously – there is NO toilet in their bathroom. Weird. Someone ought to have called the health inspector on them.

If it weren’t for Jeff (see, credit again!!) I probably wouldn’t have remembered these things. At least probably not today. Because honestly, I HAVE thought of these things before. Which doesn’t really say too much about me, I guess – other than I really do think too much. And should probably cut back on tv.

SHOULD, but won’t. Oh, well, time for lunch!