Let’s keep our sanity, shall we, and follow the example of Judah the Maccabee, who never fought a battle on the Sabbath unless he was attacked.
Years ago on Sunday night–after I was packed off to bed!–my parents watched Car 54, Where Are You? I listened to the theme song. I knew the show was created by a lot of the same people who turned out Phil Silvers in “Sgt. Bilko.” So of course it was very funny!
Joe E. Ross (left) and Fred Gwynne (right–and he would go on to play Herman Munster, another TV hit) play two New York police officers who somehow always find time for a game of checkers, despite the hurly-burly described in the theme song. Policing can be a very grim business, but not for these two. And everything always turned out all right by the time the episode was over. Perhaps this places Car 54 in the realm of fantasy; but to be able to relax people and give them a laugh–well, that’s a gift of God, and not to be despised.
“ to be able to relax people and give them a laugh–well, that’s a gift of God”
Sadly, a lot of people have walked away from this gift in our day. I’ve noticed that there’s no room for humor in the lives of many people today. I contrast this with the Space Program of the ‘60s, which was very serious business, but the astronauts could still crack a joke when the heat was off. Beyond that, they usually kept a cheery demeanor, even when the heat was definitely on.
“Car 54” is a hoot. Speaking of the Maccabees, I recently found out that some famous verses in the Bible that refer to being in the Scriptures but are not in the 66 Book Bible are found in “Enoch I.”