Lessons from Lucy

Lately I have been watching I Love Lucy while I fold laundry or whatever.  I love the show.  I have always loved it and I always will.  It's simple humor, with simple sort of relate-able plots.  It's funny and you  know it.  Abby has started sitting with me while I watch and I was pleased.  Finally a show that we could both watch together and one that wasn't going to drive me insane.  As we're watching the show, Lucy lights up a cigarette.  I don't even notice that anymore, or maybe I never did.  Abby noticed.  She says, "Mom, did she just put fire in her mouth?"  Awesome.  I tell her no and then I go on to explain that we never do that.  That it's bad for our bodies, the prophet said not to and then she said, "Mom, I'm pretty sure Jesus said not to too." Works for me.

I know that the best time to teach your children anything is when the opportunity arises.  Letters, numbers, the gospel, whatever it is, you can always teach them something at the most random times.  I wasn't expecting I Love Lucy to teach us about not smoking, I sort of thought the stink at Lagoon or our creepy neighbors would take care of that.

And as a note and a bit of information, Philip Morris the tobacco company was the major sponsor of I Love Lucy and as part of their advertising the characters would smoke their cigarettes on the show.  Also, the big heart on satin that is now the traditional title card  was not part of the original show.  There used to be little matchstick characters of 'Ricky' and 'Lucy' that opened each show.  Some of the early ones showed the matchstick characters climbing down a box of Philip Morris cigarettes.  When the show went into syndication, the matchstick characters and also the cigarettes were not appropriate and so the heart on satin became the title card of I Love Lucy.