Saturday Night 1964

1964, Saturday night, 7 p.m. Mom has prepared meatloaf, scalloped corn and baked potatoes. We are okay with this, sitting behind our TV trays In the living room, waiting for Lawrence Welk to come on Surrounded by wallpaper of giant green philodendron vines. We are impatiently waiting for our favorite TV show. So we can see the fabulous Lennon Sisters. We have their paper dolls, don’t we? “And now a word from our sponsor”. But it is more than one word. It is “see the USA in a Chevrolet” and then it is “Plop Plop Fizz Fizz Oh What a Relief it is!” Suddenly a Spaghettio commercial comes on. “Mom! Can we have Spaghettios next Saturday?” We say this in unison, not understanding We just insulted the dinner she had spent an hour preparing.