MovieChat Forums > I Love Lucy (1951) Discussion > More on "Lucyisms"

More on "Lucyisms"

posted 5 years ago by [email protected] (1732)
9 replies | jump to latest

In other threads - stemming from the old imdb boards - we've discussed "Lucyisms." This
references times when we, or people we know - or even strangers - pull a "Lucy."

This morning, I was standing in line at the bank. Naturally, as is the custom today, they
had a fairly pushy employee, who was trying to shorten the line by repeatedly asking people
what they needed, so they could do their banking at the ATM.

One middle-aged man was depositing a check into a business account, so she loudly and
hurriedly said, "Oh, I can help you with that at the desk in the corner." She then proceeded
to GRAB the man's check harshly and firmly. She was so quick, the man hadn't yet
released HIS grip...so, just like Lucy and Ethel with the bonus buck...it ripped in HALF.
He held his tattered end and glared at her. She promptly apologized, and then said it
could be TAPED together. Again, he just stared at her. Perhaps I shouldn't have chimed
in, but I said, "straight out of 'I Love Lucy.' EVERYONE burst into laughter, including
the man and the employee. Then, the lady behind me said, "Thanks for showing your
AGE!" More laughs. I then offered that many young people still watch the show, and
that several eps are still broadcast on CBS. She said, "REALLY?" I then said, "It still holds
up." The woman said, "Even though they had TWIN beds?"

Everyone was so quiet, and even grumpy, until I started this conversation. Nice that
the show still brings laughter and smiles to people's faces, even just in brief conversation.

[–] [email protected] (5517) 5 years ago

My mom was the champion of Lucyisms in my life.

Lucy hides Little Ricky's puppy. My mom tried to hide my cat's kittens. My cat had them outside and decided to bring them inside and put them in my bedroom closet. She made five trips back and forth. On Saturday dad usually fell asleep watching a ball game on the bedroom TV. But no, this time he fell asleep in the living room. Mom was on pins and needles that he'd wake up.

After the kittens were upstairs, he did wake up. Mom thought it would be better if they were in the basement where dad couldn't hear the meowing. So how to smuggle them past him? My mom put the kittens in the laundry hamper and threw some clothes on top to muffle the sound. She walked past dad to take the laundry down to the basement.

Goes to show how clueless dad was. My mom NEVER took the hamper to the basement. She always put the clothes in a big towel or sheet and took them downstairs. He didn't ask her why she was hauling the hamper down to the basement.

Lucy tried to get rid of Ricky's old clothes. My mom accidentally got rid of some of dad's nice clothes. As a new bride she wasn't skilled in doing laundry. Dad had a very nice black shirt. Mom threw it in the wash and poured Clorox on TOP! His black shirt became a black polka dotted shirt.
She said that he kept asking about his shirt. Where was it? My mom told him that he probably just left it at his mother's house. Then there was the time mom put his suede jacket in a wringer washer and...put it through the wringer.

[–] [email protected] (1732) 5 years ago

Lol! I remember you're posting this story before! Fun to read again.

Did your dad ever find out about the kittens?

When I was in my 20's, and in my first apartment with my best friend, we often struggled to pay the bills. I had
rent, gas, electric, car payment, etc. I was working two jobs (both were as a DJ), and I often had to call DWP
and the gas co. to get "payment extensions." A few times, I had to get extensions on the extensions (!), and
several times, the representatives would ask, "Why do you need a second extension?" I would sometimes
pull the Mrs. Hanson bit about "Gramma had a wreck", or "Mother's in the hospital - and needs me." They
always bought it, and my roommate/friend would HOWL (she knew which episode I was referencing).

More: Later, when I got into sales, I often had to make cold calls, and get past the "gatekeeper" receptionists,
whose jobs were to get rid of me. Occasionally, the leads would be outdated, and I would ask to speak to
a manager who was no longer working there (a dead giveaway that I was a salesman). More often than not,
the receptionists would snap, "He's NO LONGER WITH US!" I would gasp, and then say, "Oh, I'm so sorry...I didn't
know - when did he pass on?" They would often (not always) apologetically reply, "Oh, no, Sir - he didn't die. He
left the company!" I would then sigh, and say, "Oh, you don't know how relieved I am. Do you mind if I ask who
took his place?" They would often (not always) say the name of the new manager, THEN CONNECT ME TO HIM!!

While I'm on the subject: I had a co-worker who would take rejection very personally. If he got through to a
FEMALE manager, and she snapped, "I'm not interested", he would reply, "Oh, then maybe I could interest you
in some black underwear." We would roar. (This was before the days of caller I.D.).

[–] [email protected] (5517) 5 years ago

Yes dad found out about the kittens. That's pretty funny too. He rarely went down the basement. But one day he did and he spotted the kittens back by the washing machine. He was so excited. He thought he made a great discovery. He thought that they were just born.

He ran upstairs and said ,"Hey Jan! The cat had kittens!!"

No kidding. They were about a month old and walking around. lol It's pretty obvious that he did not grow up with pets. My granddad was a great guy, but his one flaw was that he really disliked animals. He used to say, "The only good dog is a dead dog." As a result, dad never had pets and was actually afraid of most dogs.

My mom also had a "Lucyism" event in traffic. Lucy blocked the Holland Tunnel. My mom started a new lane in traffic. When she was a teen-ager, she used to visit her dad in the big city, Philadelphia. (Her parents were separated.) My grandfather's friend Jim had a soft spot for my mom. He'd let her take his pickup truck and drive around. City driving can be confusing with all those lanes. Mom said that one day she was driving down Broad Street, THE main drag in Philadelphia. There were lanes for turning right, "left hand turn only" lanes, etc. Well, mom got confused and just started driving down the middle between lanes. She created her own lane.

She said, "A lot of people were following me in MY lane."

I'll have to remember some of your bill paying techniques. They may come in handy some day! Did you ever employ your own Mr. Hickox?

[–] [email protected] (1732) 5 years ago

No, but IIIIIII often would turn my bank book all the way around in a circle...desperately trying to figure out
what I owed, and what I had in my account!!

Since you brought up moms in traffic: My mom was, and remains, a very slooooooowwwww driver. In fact,
she never drove the freeway until she was retired (decades after her divorce from my dad).

When she finally started, she bragged to me, "I actually PASSED another driver." I related this to my dad,
who is British and very quick. Without missing a beat, he said, "Well, if your mother PASSED someone,
the son of a bitch was either broken down or driving backwards."

For obvious reasons, I never shared that quip with my mom.

[–] steven1660 (140) 5 years ago

Of course it still holds up! I'm 30 and grew up watching, and have several friends who are fans. As for the Lucyisms, my great aunt was the queen of Lucyisms. Everyone used to call her Lucy because she was just so hysterical. One time she was working as a waitress and spilled something on a mans pants, instead of just handing him a napkin, she proceeded to wipe the mans pants for him! Another time she got bread tongs stuck on the curtains and all the curtains of the restaurant fell off lol. Another time her and my grandmother proceeded to wall paper a room in the house they were sharing, and they did it all wrong(just like Lucy and Ethel) and my grandfather had to finish the job lol. And there are so many other instances where she was just so much like Lucy!

[–] [email protected] (5517) 5 years ago

You had an interesting great aunt! Funny thing about my mom, even though she had Lucy moments, she was very good at carpentry and things like wall papering and painting. My dad was the "Lucy" when it came to those things. Dad's carpentry screw ups and mistakes when he "fixed" things around the house would fill a book or make a good ILL episode.

My sister's friend Jennifer was another Lucy. One time she was doing a project for Girl Scouts. It involved melting wax and making some sort of little portable stove to take on camping trips. She set the kitchen curtains on fire. Another time when she decided to lighten her light brown hair to blonde, she turned it green.

When she was a new driver, she did things that would rival Lucy's u-turn in the Holland Tunnel. One time she was driving and trying to light a cigarette. My sister said that she dropped the lit cigarette in her lap and tried to put it out while driving. Her mom was with them one time. She was so alarmed at Jen's driving that when they got back into town she asked to be let out of the car and she walked the rest of the way home.

[–] steven1660 (140) 5 years ago

Omg! ahah those are very Lucy things!

[–] [email protected] (5517) 5 years ago

Did I also mention that when Jen was driving and dropped the lit cigarette she was also squinting because she had lost one of her contact lenses!

When my sister would tell these stories, our dad used to look so pained. He asked her not to tell him the way Jennifer drove. He figured that "ignorance is bliss". Her driving worried him.

Another time, years later, she was helping her boyfriend paint. She was painting a ceiling and since the paint was dripping, she took out her contact lenses and wrapped them in a tissue. She put the tissue in her pocket. Later she forgot about her contacts being in that tissue and she threw it away!

[–] steven1660 (140) 5 years ago

Omg that's funny! haha, Very Lucy!