AV Geeks Pumpkin Spliced (11-27-2025)

Hello everybody. This is Skip Alzheimer. Welcome to the AV Geeks lunchtime streaming show. Um, it is this is a pre-recorded show. It's Thanksgiving. Although I guarantee you my hair looks like this. Uh because I have not by this point I probably haven't showered. Uh I am sitting in my pajamas enjoying the day. So um I'm not bringing this to you live, but uh today's theme is pumpkin spiced. So, films and clips, commercials, TV shows, um, for things related to pumpkins. So, there's going to be a little bit of Thanksgivingish, Halloweenish, but it's all pumpkin related, and it's surprising. So, a lot of this actually came from my collection or from collections that I've been digitizing as far as the Pringer collection. um and some other places. But uh there's one thing that looks like it's sourced from video uh because I couldn't get the film print in time. I have a copy of it on film, but I uh couldn't find it. It's in a one of the storage units that I have. Anyways, uh lots of things related to pumpkins and some TV ads from the 80s and 90s to kind of round it out. But uh I hope everybody's having a good day, a restful day. Um, give thanks. I'm thankful for you guys watching. Uh, I'm thankful for a life that has led me to being able to collect films and show them to you. Um, I would like to say I'm self-started, but I'm not. I I had a lot of people, especially family, that supported me over the years in spite of the insanity of what I was doing. I have a partner, a loving partner, and so I'm very thankful for all those things. So, um I hope you're thankful as well. Anyways, I will see you tomorrow on Friday. Uh I am not going to go shopping tomorrow. And uh yeah, everybody have a great rest of your day. If you like what you saw, hit the thumbs up. Um if you would like to donate, uh donate to some place local uh someplace that uh helps people who are in need. Um cuz this is a rough time for people in need. Uh so yeah, do something do something nice for somebody local. All right, love you guys and we will see you soon. Bye. [music] >> [bell] [music] [bell] >> One morning in autumn before the first frost, a boy who lived on a farm was going to school. Do you know what his name was? Well, sometimes his mother called him >> Samuel. Sometimes his father called him Sam. His friends called him Sammy. And that's what we'll call him. Oh my. He forgot his lunch. Sammy had been wondering about the frost and if it would come tonight. Mother thought not as she felt the warm breeze on her face. Maybe not for another few weeks. And with that, off to school by a shortcut through the corn field. Some of the corn was already gathered in shocks. The pumpkins had been picked and stacked in piles. But this time, there wasn't even one extra big pumpkin. And that wasn't good. Especially for a boy who wanted a real big jacko'lantern. But what's that way off at the edge of the field? It was something orange. And Sammy had to find out if golly, a pumpkin on the vine. That means still growing. And it will grow bigger and bigger till the frost kills the vine. And if the frost doesn't come for 2 weeks, oh boy. If only the frost will wait, then Sammy will have the biggest jacko'lantern ever. [music] But Sammy could see signs that the frost was coming soon. If you looked, you could see them, too. Off in the woods, a squirrel was gathering nuts. If you looked carefully among the leaves of a bush, you could see a caterpillar getting ready for winter. And it isn't at all unusual to see flocks of birds flying south. Of course, Sammy spent most of his time during the next few weeks in school. As the days passed, the wind blew stronger and colder, but the pumpkin kept growing. The caterpillar had made his cocoon for the coming winter. But on the farm, there was work to be done before the frost came. Mother had just finished picking tomatoes. M, don't they look good? Father was getting ready to harvest the rest of the corn before the frost came. And how were things with Sammy that October afternoon? His pumpkin had grown bigger, and he was a little eager to carve his jacko'-lantern. Sammy liked to help put the hay in the barn for the winter. But he wanted to know if the frost would come tonight. Well, Sammy asked father, "Would the answer be no again?" Well, and father thought about it for a while and decided yes. I think there'll be a hard frost tonight, Sam. Really? Now there's a pumpkin a boy could be proud of. And tomorrow after the frost, Sammy would pick it for his jacko'lantern. Just before the sun set, the family came out to finish the work that had to be done before the frost. Father brought Crybaby the calf into the barn. Crybaby was too young to spend the cold night outdoors. Mother and Sammy picked the last of the ripe vegetables. And father drove the tractor into the barn so that it would be easier to start the next morning. Then the work was all done. The sun set, the warmth of the day passed, and the cold night came. Sammy pulled up an extra blanket when he went to bed that night. For the first time in many months, the temperature was going to be freezing. And then Sammy fell asleep. And while he slept, the moon was big and bright. Not a cloud was in the sky. Not a tree was moving. The air was cold and still. The next morning when Sammy woke up, can you guess what was the first thing he saw? It [music] was frost on the window in beautiful patterns and designs. And over the whole farm there was frost. It was a thin coating of ice. [music] Do you know a poem about the frost? When the frost is on the pumpkin and the fods in the shock and you hear the cuck and gobble of the strutting turkeycock and the clacking of the guineies and the clucking of the hens and the rooers's hallelujah as he tiptoes on the fence. Oh, it's then the times a fella is a feeling at his best with the rising sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest. and he leaves the house bareheaded and goes out to feed the stock. When the frost is on the and the father's in the shock. By the time Sammy got outdoors, the frost was almost all gone, but it was still quite cool. Now for some exploring to see what the frost had done. The first place he looked was in the flower garden. The zenas were killed by the frost, but mother would plant new ones next spring. And look, the iris leaves had all fallen down. Well, the iris would bloom again next year. The marolds were dead, but the frost hadn't hurt the sweet alissum at all. And look at the leaves. Soon now they would fall and the trees would be bare. In the vegetable garden, Sammy found that the frost had wilted the cabbage leaves. The parsley was killed, but the pretty green gourd was ready for picking. Picking? That reminded Sammy of something. The pumpkin was fine. The frost had melted, but the vine had wilted and the pumpkin had grown as big as it would get. So big that Sammy couldn't lift it. So big that Sammy would need some help. And to tell the truth, it was so big that it was even heavy for Father. Do you remember what Sammy was going to do with the pumpkin? Well, he made it into the biggest jacko-lantern that he had ever seen. [music] Wow. Now that's a story. That's why dear gray pumpkin, I'm looking forward to your arrival on Halloween night. >> They're back. All the Little Peanuts characters in a happy Halloween special filled with ghosties and ghoulies [music] and things that go bump in the night. It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. [music] Monday at 8, 7, Central and Mountain Toto, look, it's the Emerald City. We're back in Oz again. It's all our old friends. Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, >> Dorothy, wake up, dear. Dorothy, tomorrow's moving day, and there's lots to do. >> Oh, and M. I was back in Oz. >> You mean you were dreaming? >> Oz is more than just a dream. >> No time to discuss that again. You get dressed, young lady. You've got to help with the farewell dinner. >> Seems hardly worth all the effort. M >> Henry, tomorrow we lose this old farm to the bank. Today may be the last time the family is together. I >> guess you're right. We've got to make this a goodbye feast to remember. >> But if you both are going to live in the old folks home and I'm staying with my cousins, we won't see each other hardly at all. >> Well, there's always the US males. We can write. Auntie M, look. Somebody's stealing the mince pie. >> Come back here, you. Oh, [music] dang. This rumatism. Oh, >> I'll get them for you. Come back here. Come back. That pie doesn't belong to you. >> You're quite correct, my dear. >> You, Toto, it's the Wizard of Oz. >> Alas, no more the wizard, my dear. I I've come upon [music] hard times since ballooning back to Kansas. I didn't think you'd mind if I uh I'll sort of borrow this. >> Well, for goodness sakes, you're invited to our farewell dinner, isn't he, Toto? >> Are you still in the balloon business? >> Yes, Mother Pretty. I It was my latest balloon, which [music] brought me to this sorry state. I created a great big gas bag in the shape of a turkey, hoping to rent it out for celebrations and parades, but nobody wanted it. >> No wonder. Why'd you make it so ugly? Well, you see, I I got this great inspiration one minute, and I I constructed it before dawn. A piece of sage advice, my dear. Never create a masterpiece in the dark. It's got to turn out to be a tiki. >> Hey, wait a minute. It's blowing away. >> I'm pie. >> I got help, Toto. >> Hey. Hey, hang on. Hang on, child. It can't fall. Hey, that there's enough gas in there to lift you round the world. >> Oz is [music] everything that Oz [singing] can be. Find that [music and singing] magic and then soon you'll see. See this [music and singing] saddle world through children's eyes. [singing and music] Find the first time you saw summer [singing] sky. eyes. See what's under [music] all that rainbow glow. Find the wonder only kids [music] can [singing] know. All the hope [music] and joy and harmony. [singing] Everything [music] that can be a is more than [music and singing] just a dream or two. [music] Oz to [singing] me is more a dream come true. [music] Find the [singing] magic and then soon you'll see everything [music] [singing] that us can be. [music] >> Hi there. I'm Dumpy the pumpkin. Carell's Halloween ice cream cake. I weigh 44 oz and serve 10 to 12 people. >> HAPPY HALLOWEEN PARTY. I'M Wiki the Witch and I weigh 45 oz. We're both made fresh daily at your participating Carell ice cream store. >> You want to send one to a friend? Please phone 800 327 gift and call a cake honors most major credit cards. Thank you. >> And off went Dorothy into that fantastic sky with nothing more than a mince pie and a dog Toto. [music] >> [music] >> And when she finally came down, she found herself in a fantastic place. As magical as it was familiar. [music] >> Oh golly, it's the enemy. Hello, enemy. I give up. >> What makes you think I'm the enemy? Anybody who carries a pumpkin pie is the enemy to me. >> It's not pumpkin. It's mint. See? >> Oh. Oh, then you're a friend. The name's Jack Pumpkin Head. Welcome. [music] Sit you down. Let me take your pie. >> I'm Dorothy. >> Uh-huh. >> And I haven't met anyone like you since >> Huh? >> Since >> Oh dear. This isn't Kansas, is it? >> Uh-uh. >> California. >> You're getting warmer. Welcome to Winkle Country, ma'am. >> Isn't that in the land of Oz? >> Uh-huh. Due west of the Emerald City, former home of the Wicked Witch. >> The witch? She didn't come back to life, did she? >> Uh-uh. She's still a pushing up the poppies. >> That's a relief. [music] >> Well, now don't get too relieved. Now we got someone worse. Tyrone the >> Tyrone. What? The terrible >> terrible what? >> The toy tinker. >> Tyrone the terrible toy tinker. >> Where? Where is he? Oh my gosh. Oh my golly gumies. Save yourself. Woohoo. Wiggly wobblies. >> For what? There's nothing here. >> Oh. Oh, that's right. There isn't, silly me. >> Why were you so frightened? >> Well, well, heck, you'd be frightened, too. He does terrible things. He brings all the toys to life and for all the wrong reasons. Hyro the terrible toy taker. He lived in a castle of terrible toy towers high in Kukula Mountain, long dormant volcano. There he had his legions of lifeless lead lances. Toy soldiers wait to be brought to life by Tyrone once alive. [music] They will march on the Emerald City and all ours will belong to Tyrone. But how can he bring toys to life >> with this? >> Dr. Pippen's powder of life. To bring anything to [music] life, sprinkle generously on surface. Keep dry. >> This here is the powder that brought me to life. When Dr. Pippen retired to the seashore, he entrusted what was left of his powder to me. >> If this is all there is of it, I guess folks would do anything to steal it away. >> Uh-huh. Tyrone was just about to get it when you swooped down on your monster bird and frightened him away. Oh, Mr. Birdie sir, are you going to mind if I hide my cake of powder again? >> Oh, he's not a real bird. He's just a balloon. >> What did she say? It was Tyrone the terrible toy taker. It grabbed that cake and spread the powder on my poor old turkey balloon, bringing it to life. [music] [music] Neighird, I brought you to life. I am your master. Your might and power will help me crush the Emerald City. And when my army of lead marches through the burning streets, death and destruction will reign. [music] And those who remain alive will be our slaves. Yes, my giant friend, we will vanquish ours. I hereby name thee Green Gobbler of Oz. Lift me, Green Gobbler. Lift me to Kala Mountain and my army of the living. We've got to get to the Emerald City and Warren. Warren who's in charge there now that the wizard's back in Kansas. >> Osma, the true queen of Oz. >> Well, let's warn her. >> No use. Emerald City is a two-day walk from here. We'd never make it in time. >> We've got to do something. >> Well, now let me see. Oh, there's an underground passageway which leads to Cuckula Mountain. >> I don't follow you. >> You'll have to. I'm the only one who knows the way. >> I mean, what good's a tunnel to Cougala? >> Well, we can sneak up on Tyrone and steal back the powder before he uses it. >> Won't he use it right away? >> Uh-uh. Look, it's almost sundown. The power of life only works by light of day. >> Then let's get there before dawn. Come on. >> But what about the tiger? >> Huh? What tiger? >> The passage is guarded by an awful hungry tiger. [screaming] We got to bribe him with something before he lets us through. >> I know. We'll give him m >> now. Just a mouth. Just a mouth. I got no desire to be eaten here. >> Oh my gosh. Lupai just spoke words to me. And what do you expect me to speak? Numbers already. >> Some of the powder of life must have landed on the pie before. >> See, seenor. >> But every time you speak, it's with a different accent. >> Is it now? Sure. Just because me men's pies are made from a wee bit of everything. They're communical, as you might say. >> Do you have a name? >> My name is Crust. [music] You crust? >> Well, we certainly can't feed you and crust to the tiger. We'll just have to find something else to feed him. >> [music] >> Now, let me tell you, they were a brave little band, and it somehow reminded Dorothy of another little group of brave people. So, to make time [music] pass, Darothy told Jack about the pioneers. >> What are pioneers? Like Munchkins? >> No, they were the early settlers in my country. And they were all alone in a big unfriendly wilderness. But they stuck it out. Uncle Henry said it was because they were full of beans, backbone, and a believing heart. beans, backbone, and a believing heart. I guess you need those things whether you're in the wilderness or in the land of ours. [music] With pains in your button, bone up your back, and a [music] heart that wants to be, ain't nothing can hurt in this old world. Ain't nothing can make you grieve. You'll stand up to the bullies. You'll help the [music] weak along. And you'll never doubt how it all comes out. Cuz your heart will keep [music] you strong. With beans in your button, bone up your back, and a heart that wants to believe. Ain't nothing at all can get you down. [music] Ain't nothing you can't achieve. You'll find you can't stop trying. [music] From early morning till eve with beans in your button, bone up your back and a heart that wants to believe. With beans in your button and the bone of your back and a heart that wants to believe. That goes for [music] pilgrims. That goes for you. They built a new world and you can too. [singing] [music] [music] With pains in your button, a bone up your back, and a heart that wants to believe. On a sunny morning, you'll be reborn with thunder up your sleeve. You'll build a new [music] tomorrow to live the dreams you weave. With veins in your button, the bone of your back and a heart that wants to [music] be live. With veins in your button, the bone of your back and a heart that wants to [music] be. Look what's rising out of the pumpkin patch this Halloween. The pumpkin cutter. A great [music] way to let your kids carve their own pumpkins. Without sharp edges, they cut little hands. It [music] even makes toothy grins easy to do. The pumpkin scoop removes seeds and pulp better than any [music] spoon. And the pumpkin light replaces dangerous candles with glowing results. Have a great pumpkin [music] this Halloween with the pumpkin cutter, pumpkin scoop, and pumpkin light. >> Available at Faze Drugs, Genevese Drugstore, Stater Brothers Markets, and Wilson Farms Markets. >> And when the pioneers settled the land and brought in their first crops, they held a great feast to give thanks. I like fish cuz I'm hungry. Very, very hungry. [screaming] I'm warning you. I SAID, [screaming] AND I meant roar. >> But we've got nothing to feed you. >> Nothing. YOU ALL LOOK DELICIOUS and I haven't had a bite in 3 days. Okay, how about you? >> THAT'S NOT [screaming] WHAT I MEANT. >> We're sorry you're so hungry. >> You're sorry. I should eat you up. >> Oh, >> don't worry. I won't. I should, but I won't. [laughter] >> What's wrong? You can tell me. >> Okay. You see, I'm the savage beast, and I've got an appetite for all sorts of things, from skinny chipmunks to fat babies. >> That is a problem. >> Oh, you're telling me. [laughter] Fat babies sound delicious. But I never eat any because my conscience tells me it's wrong. Oh, what good's a tiger whose conscience is stronger than his appetite? >> I think you're a very good tiger. >> Oh, no. [laughter] I'm a good vegetarian, but I'm a very bad tiger. >> Hey, this is a big idea. Why the tiger no comeas? Then he can eat a tyrone, >> right? He's so evil. Your conscious certainly wouldn't bother you. >> WHAT A NUMMY IDEA. A chubby Tyrone burger. Where's my buster? Follow me. I know the way. >> [music] >> Well, by the time they'd gone a few more miles, they realized they were hopelessly lost. I thought you knew the way. So did I. >> Think big pumpkin god use few more beans in button. >> Wait a minute. What's that glittering over there? [music] A windup copper man. Hey, look. There's a brass name plate. >> It was Tik Tok [music] himself. Patent double action, extra responsive, thought creating, perfect talking mechanical man who thinks, speaks, acts, and does everything but live. >> Good evening, pretty girl. Thank you for winding me. When I run down, I am helpless. Helpless. Helpless. Helpless. Thank you. How did you know? >> It's what Uncle Henry always does when the butter turn gets stuck. >> You are so kind. Perhaps I could help you. >> Do you know the way to Kougala Mountain? >> I will take you there. It's not very not very [music] not very far. Follow me. Come on, gang. >> I can smell supper at last. >> With Tic Tac leading the way, they finally came to the end of the passage. But the exit was blocked by a heavy rock. Tyrone's castle of terrible toy towers was built right on the floor of the dead volcano's crater. Legions of still, [music] silent le soldiers stood at attention, waiting to be brought to life at dawn. >> We've got to work fast. Sun will be up soon. >> What time is it? >> I think it's half 5. >> In the sun, she rise at 6:00. >> Then let's get going. >> [music] [music] >> Everything was moving along splendidly when suddenly tick tock ran down. >> Wind him up. [music] >> That felt good. This way. >> My tail. [crying] >> Shh. You wake up. >> But my tail HASN'T HURT LIKE THIS SINCE I TRIED TO EAT IT. OH, GO. LOOK. Here comes the gobbler. >> Old Gobbler may have been sleeping, but once awakened, he was one priy. I'll tell you. >> Oh, help me. Somebody help me. [laughter] >> You know where that bird took Darothy? Right into the clutches of Tyrone, the terrible toy taker. You don't scare me. >> Of course I do. >> Do not >> do too. >> Uh-uh. >> Darn. But wait till you see my monster living toys. >> Kansas girls don't scare easy. >> Not even nervous. >> No, I think you're just awful. You should be thankful you're a toy tinker who can create beautiful play things to make kids happy. Instead, you try to make them slaves. >> Cease. Oh, cease. Child, do not remind me of what I might have been. I always wanted a nice little toy shop. My boyhood idol was Jeppetto. But I took the wrong path. >> You could always reform. >> Oh, it's too late. >> It's not too late. You make toys and soon it'll be Christmas and you live in Oz. >> Toys Christmas. Oz. I don't get the connection. >> Three [music] magic words that each kid knows. Christmas toys [singing and music] and us. In every heart the wonder grows. [singing] Christmas toys and us. For Christmas [music] is a special time of love and laughs and toys. [singing] [music] And Oz can happen any day. A [music] timeless land of [singing] joys. But kids grow up and soon [music] forget those words of [singing] long ago. [music] Till suddenly their own kids see with sparkling [singing] eyes a glow [music] that Christmas steals a special time [singing] of love and laughs and toys [music] and can happen any day. still timeless in [singing] its joys. When folks [music] grow old and find [singing] it hard remembering what [music] was the child they were will [music] not forget. Christmas toys and us. >> [music] >> You'll always [singing] have a child inside with Christmas toys and [music] >> I won't hear anymore. You're breaking an old villain's heart. [laughter] Oh, it's morning. I could bring those soldiers to life now, except for one thing. >> What's that? >> I just can't bring myself to do it. [laughter] >> Just blink. Instead of Tyrone the Terrible, you'll be known as Tyrone the Terrific. >> You really think so? >> Yep. >> There he is. [screaming] >> Sick him. >> Where's the salt and pepper? And where's my bib? >> No. WAIT, TIGER. >> LET ME ADD HIM. >> HE'S NOT EVIL ANYMORE. [screaming] >> Oh no. >> The powder of life fell way down onto the old dead volcano crus. [music] >> The volcano is coming to life. >> If the volcano erupts, >> only one thing can save us. Come, Green Gobler. Oh, they better hurry. Come on. Go, Scotch. Shoot. Fire away. They make it. Hey, they did. They were on their way to the Emerald City and Queen Osma. When it comes to great holiday pumpkin pies, there are no two ways about it. Mrs. Brinkers is Mrs. Smith's. [music] And because, as she says, this is family, Mrs. Tanelli's pumpkin pie is always Mrs. Smith's Mrs. Smith's pumpkin pie. [music] Right from using pumpkins grown especially for us. They're made with exceptional care. Which is precisely why even Mrs. Smith's pumpkin pie is Mrs. Smith's. For the holidays, every [music] family's pie should be Mrs. Smith's. You have been brave, my dear, [music] and so you shall be rewarded. Name your desire, Dorothy. >> Most of all, I want to get back to Uncle Henry and Aunt M. >> But you have made so many friends here on your two visits. Have you friends like these at home? >> No, ma'am. But I'm going to have to move away from everybody I love and live with practically strangers. Then [music] instead of sending you back, let me look. Child, look. Look to the rainbow sky. [music] It's It's my house from Kansas. [music] >> M I was just about to carve the bird. And >> my goodness, Darthothy wasn't dreaming all those times. Uncle Henry. Oh, Auntie M. Welcome to Oz. [laughter] >> Well, Aunt Embit made so much turkey and all that there was plenty for everybody. We all lived happily ever after. How do I know? Cuz I came along for the ride. >> Oh, this is wonderful. It's good to have you home. >> Home? >> Home is where the heart is. And we're home at last. [music] [music] [music] >> [music] >> Some people believe it's better to get thrown clear in a car crash, but at 30 m hour, that's the speed you will be doing when you hit the concrete or a lighting pole. Or maybe you're just lying there, stunned in the road. No. The best place to be in a car crash is in the car with your safety belts buckled to hold you there. If you're not wearing a safety belt, what's holding you back? [singing] [music] >> Blessings we share. Thanks for our people our home. >> I'm Bill Johnson. Around here they just call me dad. I've been trying to read but I just can't seem to do it. Thanksgiving day. We Johnson's had a good Thanksgiving, the best we've ever had. And I can't help thinking that what made it better was a feeling, a real feeling of thankfulness. And that's odd, too, when you consider the shape things were in when I got home from work yesterday. My kids, Dick and Tommy and Susan, were all home from school. And of course, mother and the baby were there. His kids will. Mine were living tomorrow right along with today. Looking forward to Thanksgiving. And like most men, I'm glad it was mother instead of me who had to break the news to them. >> Tomorrow's Thanksgiving. >> M turkey and dressing and pie and cake >> and fruit salad and whipped cream and cranberries. Gee, I can hardly wait. >> Me, too. >> Well, you know, children, we've had a lot of expenses this month. Well, your father and I thought that Well, the truth of the matter is there just won't be any turkey this year. >> No turkey for Thanksgiving. >> Oh, I'm going to make a pumpkin pie. We'll have plenty to eat. But, well, we'll just have to get along without turkey. >> Mom, you don't mean it. It won't be Thanksgiving at all. >> Even the pilgrims had a feast. After all, isn't that what Thanksgiving's for? I don't think it's fair. >> And it was right there that I came in right in the thick of it. >> Hello everybody. >> Hi Paul. >> Hello Mother Dick. Susan or what's been going on around here? What's the matter with everybody anyway? >> Mom says we're not going to have any Thanksgiving. >> No turkey. No good thing. >> A fat lot we're going to have to be thankful for. Oh, >> I don't think you kids really mean that. >> We do, too. We've always had turkey for Thanksgiving. >> Yes. And everybody else in the block's going to have it this year as always. >> Yes, we've always had tea, just as a lot of Americans have had it, and we'll keep on having it. Turkey on Thanksgiving is a great American tradition. But what you kids are saying makes it sound as if the turkey is the only thing we had to be thankful for. >> Well, gee whiz, no, Dad. It's not that at all. >> Oh, I know, Dick. With turkey, it's easy to lose sight of what Thanksgiving really means. >> And don't think we're just making excuses because we don't have any turkey this year. We Well, we know it'll mean a lot more to us the next time we do have it. >> Well, sure. Suppose we don't have a bang up feast. We're still a lot better off than the pilgrims. >> That's it, Dick. Do you see what Dick's trying to say? Turkey or no turkey, we've still got all the freedoms and privileges the pilgrims gave us. And out of those privileges have come a lot of things. Things the pilgrims never even dreamed of. >> Why? We could make a list a mile long. >> Why don't we do it? >> But now hold on a minute. You've got the idea, but it isn't something you can write down like well like a grocery list. You've got to feel it down deep before you can really be thankful for anything. I tell you what, let's do let's take a little more time to think this over. When you get right down to it, there are some pretty tough decisions in making up your mind what means the most to you. Your life, sure, that's one thing you can't get along without. But do you know that there are some places in the world today where you have to get along without just about everything else? >> Golly, Daddy, >> I guess I kind of got carried away. But I'll bet you one thing. If we really think over what we have to be thankful for when we sit down to whatever mother fixes to eat tomorrow, we'll be one family in America that will really have a Thanksgiving dinner. Well, that's how it got started. The Johnson's didn't have any turkey. And the kids, no, I mean everybody likes to make something special out of a special day. So, we fell back on something as old as the pilgrims, toting up the common, ordinary blessings that we had to be thankful for. That night, I'd see Dick there building his model airplane and Susan just playing. Only they weren't just playing. They were mulling things over, thinking big thoughts for such young heads. And as for mother and Tom and baby Janet, and yes, me too, it was as if we had our eyes open for the first time, seeing all the things there were to appreciate in just any ordinary day in America. When Thanksgiving Day got here, we took our places around the table and we were ready. And then, well, we all knew it. There are some things you just can't say. But everybody in his own way knew what he had to be thankful for and that this was the time to think about it. Tom was first. >> I am thankful for getting plenty to eat all the time with extras that count like cookies and milk after school. Like mom says, I'm hungry all the time anyway. And if I didn't live in a country where there is plenty to go around, golly. And I'm thankful for the free public library where I can get books about adventure. Jack London, Richard Hallebertton. Gee, the way they tell a story is as good as being there yourself. And it's free with only a library card. >> Yes, Tommy thought about some of the things he ought to be glad for all the time. And somehow turkey and trimming seemed to matter a whole lot less than he thought they did yesterday. Well, then it was Susan's turn. Susan's a happy golucky kid. You'd never credit her with thinking beyond her dolls, but she got right into the spirit of it. >> I am thankful we have what we need to wear. Though, mother says it's hard to keep up with us. We grow so fast. I never thought before how many clothes it takes for all kinds of weather, or how it would be to have to do without the right ones. I'm glad to be able to go to Sunday school or go to any church I want any Sunday. I'm thankful for my mother and daddy that they are here with us that both of them aren't too worried about things to take time to have fun with us. I'm glad we're a family that families are still important in America. >> I guess Dick being the oldest was having some pretty serious thoughts. I am thankful for being able to get an education. For living where schools, all schools, open their doors to a guy who wants to learn. Where school books are studied instead of burned. Where a guy is rated by how much he knows. And the community is rated by how well it teaches him. I'm glad I've got a chance to play batting a ball around once in a while. Stuff like that. I'm glad it's fun growing up in America. >> Sure, baby Janet's too young to understand the big word Thanksgiving. She's too little even to tell us the things that make her happy. But we can tell. And maybe she's thinking about them now. Maybe she's thinking about the fun of splashing around in the tub and about how good it feels to be clean, about playtime with mother and the security she feels in mother's arms. And as for mother, seems she's always working, cooking, ironing, tending children, daylight to dark. What does she have to be thankful for? I am thankful that my children had the privilege of being born safely and of growing up healthy and strong. I'm thankful that I have the privilege of guiding them as they become useful men and women. And I'm thankful for all the things our American system makes possible. For the Smiths and the Browns and the Johnson's, for washing machines, hot water out of a tap, and a telephone to call the doctor when one of the family is sick, a car to get dad to work. Yes, I'm thankful for all the things free people working together can produce. I'm thankful that when my neighbor drops in to borrow a cup of flour, we've got the right to talk about anything we want to. The parent teacher project, the new mayor, or or Jane Jones hat. And last of all, I'm truly thankful for the peace of mind that dad's job brings. for knowing that even though there are lots of luxuries we can't afford, there still will always be enough to go around for the things we have to have. I'm glad dad doesn't work slave hours. That there are evenings and Sundays and vacations when we can all be together. That's mother for you. Grateful for what America means to her family. And now for me, I've got so many things to be thankful for. I'm thankful for this house. It may need a coat of paint. It has a mortgage, but it's ours. A place where we can be together in privacy. And I'm thankful for the thing that makes this house our home. The happiness here, not just today or on Christmas morning, but on a dayto-day basis all through the year. for knowing that a knock on our door means nothing to fear. A friend calling or maybe a bill collector or a kid selling magazines. You never know what to expect. But you can count on one thing. It's not going to be some political gangster coming to drag one of us off to jail because we believe in freedom. And I'm glad that that freedom we've got lets me choose the kind of work I like and can do best. Taking a sluggish motor and making it hum again. makes me feel that somebody got to his work or wherever he had to go just because of me. And feeling like that gives me a lot of satisfaction. And I'm thankful for my newspaper. Just a few cents worth of printers ink and paper, but more valuable than any amount of money because in it the editor's got the privilege of printing what he thinks, and I've got the privilege of agreeing with him or not, however the facts strike me. And both of us, the editor and I have the right to act on our opinions on election day to vote for the principles we believe in. And finally, I'm thankful for being able to believe in spite of everything that somehow someway the unity we've got here in the Johnson family will someday spread to men and nations throughout the world. For all these things we are truly and humbly thankful. Amen. Amen. Amen.