First mate's log:
September 24, 1973
The Howells invited their friends to a Roaring '20s party this coming Saturday. Yeah, Mary Ann is working on my costume and hers. Luckily, we still have the Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford costumes that washed ashore with the silent-movie equipment. So she just has to let them out a little, since we've both gained a little weight in the past few years.
The Howells actually remember the '20s. He was very upset about the Crash of Wall Street, but he had fun before then. And Mrs. Howell was a flapper with lots of "beaus." And they both loved dancing.
There's going to be a Charleston contest at the party, so Mary Ann and I have been practicing. I'm still not a very good dancer, but it's fun anyway.
Carol Brady's diary:
September 26, 1973
The Howells are throwing an all-ages Roaring '20s party this Saturday. I sort of regret clearing out the attic, although it was for charity. We didn't have much in the way of clothes from fifty years ago, but still. Mike wanted to use Bobby's ukulele that he got on our Hawaii trip last summer, but unfortunately Bobby sat on it after meeting Don Ho. So Mike got a vintage ukulele at a thrift store on Blenford.
I also checked the thrift stores for costumes we can wear, but there wasn't much. It's times like these that I really feel our isolation. I miss being able to just drive around California until I find what I need. Anyway, Ginger has agreed to loan us some costumes from the BITV studios, since they've done a few 1920s shows, like dramas and variety shows. And it's not as if there's going to be a costume contest.
As for the dance contest, the whole family had fun practicing the Charleston in our living room. Well, everyone but Bobby, who's been kind of moody this week. He's only eleven, but maybe it's preteen blahs. Hopefully he'll be in a better mood by Saturday, or the party will cheer him up.
September 28, 1973
Bobby told me he might have the mumps! From kissing a girl! He didn't know she had mumps of course when he kissed her. It's Cindy's friend, Millicent, and he hardly talked to her before this week, so he moves a lot faster than I ever did, at any age.
First she kissed him, as thanks for getting some boys to stop teasing her at school. Then he talked to his dad about it, because Bobby saw skyrockets when he kissed her.
"Gilligan, have you ever seen skyrockets from kissing?"
"No, but I've been dizzy a few times."
Bobby thought the skyrockets might mean he was in love, so after school yesterday he decided to kiss Millicent to be sure. He went over to her house and kissed her when she answered the door. Then she told him she might have the mumps. She'll see the doctor this morning, before the school day starts.
He was telling me this on the phone after dinner last night, since he didn't want me to catch the mumps. When I answered, I thought it was Matt, and I was worried I'd blurt out about Dwayne and Steve's adoption. But it wasn't much of a relief, especially because mumps can last two weeks, according to Mary Ann. (Yeah, I told her this secret, and she thought the puppy love was cute, if you can ignore the mumps.)
Bobby told me he's going to avoid his family as much as he can until he hears from Millicent. I don't know how he'll do that, but maybe he'll sleep on the couch or something. I wished him luck of course.
September 30, 1973
My goodness, Bobby had a whole crisis this week and I had no idea! At least with Joe Namath, I knew everything but Cindy's letter, which Bobby himself didn't know about until Mr. Namath arrived. Mike knew part of this secret, but he kept it even from me.
One of Cindy's best friends, Millicent (who was gone on vacation during the whole Snow White hubbub), kissed Bobby! Mike knew about that, since Bobby confided in him.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked Mike, when we were back in our bedroom and Bobby was safely in his own bed. (I'll explain why he was out of it in a bit.)
"Does the name Linda mean anything to you?"
I blushed but laughed. He had a point. I did go overboard, trying to find the girl that Greg had his first big crush on, only to find out it was his teacher. I don't think I would've been as bad this time, since I already know Millicent as Cindy's friend. And at the time of "Linda," I hadn't seen the older kids through so many dates and short-lived relationships. Probably by the time Cindy has a boyfriend, I'll have completely relaxed. Well, OK, I'll never be indifferent to their "romances."
And in this case, it might not have been a harmless crush. Not that they're going to elope or anything like that of course. But Millicent found out, between the day she kissed Bobby and the day he kissed her, she had been exposed to the mumps! Bobby didn't want to tell anyone, even Mike, because he was too embarrassed about kissing her.
So that night, which was Thursday night, he planned to sleep out in Tiger's old doghouse! But when I went to tuck the children in, I saw Bobby wasn't in bed. Mike, Greg, and I went looking for him and found him out in the backyard. He explained to me and Mike, but not Greg, who had gone back to the attic, about the mumps and how he didn't want anyone to catch them from him.
We explained to him that he should've come to us as soon as he heard he might've been exposed to the mumps. Hopefully, he'll confide in us, or at least Mike, when he has other troubles with girls. As for Millicent, she didn't have the mumps, and all is well.
Yes, we went to the Roaring '20s party and it was a lot of fun. The Howells hired a live band, with veteran musicians from the '20s, who could still deliver "hot jazz" after fifty years. Alice and Sam won the Charleston contest, but she confessed to me and Mike that she dropped an ice cube down his back just before they went out on the dance floor.
And Ginger, who looked stunning of course, confessed to me that she and Roy are adopting two more sons! They're Matt's best friends at the orphanage and he misses them terribly. However, she and Roy aren't going to tell Matt. They want to surprise him with his new brothers. I would've objected, but it's not as if the adoption process drags out for months on Blenford. It's just a few more days until they'll take Dwayne and Steve home.
Yes, I do worry a little that they're biting off more than they can chew. It's not like puppies. Three sons are not as easy to raise as one, and they'll have to deal with sibling rivalry and all that. But in their different ways, Ginger and Roy are both very adventurous. And, yes, I'll be happy to offer my advice, based on adopting three sons myself.