I am proud to be a Brady Bunch Junkie. I can quote practically every episode verbadum. I can identify each episode within the first 5 seconds (which I love to do to impress my friends). I bet I know each episode better than the cast does! When I was growing up, my sisters and I would try to cover each others mouths so that we could sing the opening song solo and a cappella. I,too, am a "middle child". The middle of three girls. I would have given anything to have three brothers to offset the middle child syndrome. Even if it meant not having a toilet (which was never shown). Jan was someone I could relate to and I thought my sisters could relate to me better through her. Whenever she was a focal point in an episode, I'd be all "see what I mean" and "that's how I feel" about being in the middle. To this day I still refer to myself as the "Jan" in my family. And if I meet a guy who happens to be a middle brother, I say " oh, you're like Peter". If he doesn't get it, than he's out. Anyway, regardless if I'm the middle or not, I always wanted to be a Brady. Where else could you find a family that let you decide your own punishments, live by exact words, help you contact Davy Jones, give up their den so that you could have your own "funky" room, let you have a slumber party (after you were in trouble with the school principal) put on a play of Snow White and the Seven Drawfs in your backyard, believe you when you say the cigarettes they found in your jacket were not yours AND had a live in maid! The only thing they asked of you was "don't play ball in the house". And, morals of the story were taught in Latin so you didn't understand them anyway (coviat emptor); "let the buyer beware." However, Mike & Carol did try to realte with their kids by using such phrases as "right on", "groovy", "far out" and my personal favorite "wrapping". Hopefully Carol realizes by now that it is not against the law. Overall, they were a well-rounded and well-balanced family who believed in each other and stuck by one another. As corny as the show was, for those thirty minutes, I secretly wished that I was a Brady.
