The Honeymoon

Supposedly this family, the Waltons are poor. The show is set in the teeth of the depression. I was born in 1950, and my parents and grandparents were poor. Like Redd Foxx said one time "We were so poor you could have put 54 zeros between the p and r. But the Waltons operate their own business. Granted it is not a million dollar business, but they have income. And, here in 1933 the Waltons have electricty, lights, a radio, indoor plumbing, and a working pickup truck. My father started school in 1933, and he would have described the Waltons as upper middle class.

To get to the gist of the story, John and Oliva decide to blow $20 on some frivilous trip to Virginia Beach. Leaving their children at home with ragged overalls and shirts with holes in the sleeve. I busted out laughing thinking of my Grandpa and Grandma wasting money like that, if they ever had it to start with. This show needed someone like my father to help with the story line and tell them what real poverty was during the Depression.

It is a show. A delightful one. It's based on reality, but in Hollywood, making the family without ANY sort of "fancies" would've made for boring viewing. I am sure the story on which it was based is slightly different. The individual who moaned about the episode being inaccurate financially needs to learn what is reality and what is Hollywood. They spend money it took them a long time to set aside. It's not as if they just made the money appear out of thin air. And if you had even the most basic things back then, is that not a good thing? Why wish people to be dirt poor? The kids' clothes would only get ruined if they were fancied up, the way the kids play. So in that sense, it's accurate. None of them were particularly fond of dressing fancy, anyway. They wanted their mother to have a break, which she needed. Every mother needs some breathing room. It doesn't make the show inaccurate or flawed. There's different opinions on what "poor" is. I have the Internet and a computer, but I can barely make it from one week to the next money wise. So, I guess that means I'm upper middle class, too? Hardly. I found a way to get those things without spending a ton of money. I am still poor. Come on, now.