Your Coca-Cola Bottler presents Claudia, based on the famous play and novels by Rose Franken. Brought to you transcribed Monday through Friday by your friendly neighbor who bottles Coca-Cola. Relax, and while you're listening, refresh yourself. Have a Coke. And now, Claudia. Boom do do do, boom do do do, boo do do do do. Isn't it a shame Mama had to go back to New York tonight? She'll be back Friday. You know, I think I miss her already. That's a sweet thing to say. Sweet? What kind of a word is that to use about a man? You know what I mean. Sweet like in wonderful. It reminds me I'm hungry. I don't follow it, but I am too. What time is it? Mmm, 7.30. Well, we'll be home in a few minutes. David, you really think Mama will be back Friday? Aunt Louisa's feeling better by then. She'd better feel better. Are you sure it's only 7.30? I feel as if I haven't eaten in days. Sure I'm sure it's only 7.30. It's the country air. You know, it's funny about Aunt Louisa. What is? Mama pops up as a relative every now and then. You mean on birthdays, anniversaries, one dinner a year. When she gets sick and Mama has to rush off to stay with her. Rush is right. I never thought we'd make the train. I guess that being a person's father's only sister makes blood stronger than water. Say that again. You know what I mean. Mama feels a sort of obligation to Aunt Louisa because she's the only close relative my father left. You can build up quite an appetite with a few sentences like that. I don't have to build up an appetite. I have it. I can't wait to get home and get rid of it. Then why should we wait? Why don't we pick up something on the way home? Very good reasons why not. What are they? Simply that Mama seasoned and stuffed a chicken, put it in the oven to roast before we go to the station. Well, I don't think it'll roast in the oven. Roast either? I still have to turn the oven on anyway, darling. Well, how long will it be before we can really get down to brass tacks with that chicken? Oh, not very long. About 15 minutes. What? Just enough time for you to shower and eat your soup. Much nicer eating at home than out, isn't it? Much. And when you're through, you don't have to move. Do you hear the frogs? Nope. All I hear is the motor of our car. David, see that little sliver of moon rising? I wish it were a little sliver of cheese. Oh, you have no soul. Oh, look, I see a star. Make a wish. You bet. I wish I were eating that chicken. Can't you drive a little faster? I'm not that hungry. And with the chicken, we're going to have hash brown potatoes and cheese. Mom and I finish shelling the peas just before Aunt Louisa calls. Say, darling. What? You know what there is at the end of this road? A pot of gold. Better than that. Better? Mm-hmm. A hamburger stand. Juicy, thick, large. They said they had toasted buns with lots of relish. And pickle on the side. Oh, I love pickles. And with lots of mustard. And catsup. What do you say we stop there? No. This minute. Their hot chocolate's good, too, with whipped cream on top. Oh, dear. All right. Just as soon as we get there. I can't stand it. I'm so hungry. You really want to stop off and have a nice, big, rare, juicy hamburger? Well, make up your mind. I can just smell those hamburgers. I can just taste them. Come on, let's drive over. No. No? David, not you mean to tell me you'd prefer a nice, big, juicy hamburger in a diner rather than a... Nice, skinny, undercooked chicken in our own home? Well, I wouldn't. Oh. I think it would be unpatriotic of us to stop here and eat a hamburger when our chicken is waiting. We'll eat the chicken, too. I'm that hungry. But, David, the sooner I get him into the oven, the sooner we'll... Unless you really want to stop here, do you? I suppose not. I guess it'd be awful crowded. If you do want to stop, darling, why say so? I wouldn't mind your saying so. Oh, that's big of you. Home is so nice. We'll spend the whole evening... Over the dishes. No, you won't. We'll listen to the radio. I'll even let you read the papers without interrupting. Now, darling, don't get rash. No, are you sorry we didn't stop at that hamburger stand? No. Not the least bit. All right? Home you are, Mrs Naughton. Safely delivered. Oh. Our house is much prettier than a hamburger stand, isn't it? Much. But the service isn't as fast. Oh, complaints, complaints, complaints. Hey, as you run through, darling, would you flip the switch in the living room so I don't bump into anything? The switch is flipped. Isn't it convenient? You flip a little switch and the whole house lights up. You flip another little switch and the chicken starts cooking itself. I don't see why people make such a fuss about living in the country. How would you like to have a glass of tomato juice? I'd love it. Where is it? There isn't any. Good. I really didn't want any either. Now, see, the chicken's in the oven. All I have to do is turn it on. Oh, David, if I'd known the country would be like this, I'd have wanted us to move up here ten years ago. Me too. Dinner might be ready by now. Oh, you. It's a good thing I don't take you seriously. That's the trouble. Here's a little bit of cheese. A twig to a drowning man. And here are three olives. Take them all? Oh, I don't want to ruin my appetite. Well, I guess I'll go up and shower. And I'll set the table. Goodbye, darling. So long. Don't hurry, or you'll have to wait longer. David, did you turn out the lights? I didn't touch them. Did you? Are you sure? Darling, if you're playing a joke, it isn't very funny. I haven't moved. I'm standing right next to the oven. Just because you showed me where that little fuse box was doesn't mean that you had to play with it. That little fuse box? What's that little fuse box got to do with the lights going out? Well, I guess you didn't. Am I or am I not standing in the same place as when you left? How can I possibly tell when I can't see you? Here I am. Say, isn't it dark in here? Very dark. You can't see your two feet in front of you. It's dark all over the house. David, what are you doing? I'm trying to find the fuse box. Do you mind? No. I didn't know it could be so dark in the dark. Have you got a match, darling? Of course not. Everything in this kitchen is electric. Have you got one? Let me see. And then here. I don't seem to have any. Ouch! Did you hurt yourself, darling? Don't move. I don't want you bumping around the furniture. Where's our flashlight? I put it in the car in case we got a flat tire in the middle of the night. I'll get it. Now stand still, darling. Sorry. I didn't know you were standing there. Hello. Goodbye. Hello. Oh, don't you wish you were a cat. You know what I wish? What? I wish that we were perched up on a stool in that hamburger stand. What? What's the matter? You all right? All the lights are off. You don't say. But David, you don't realize what that means. Don't I? It means we can't see a foot in front of my face. You mean a hand. But who cares about that? Oh. Or even a table. David, it's much worse than that. The chicken. The chicken? Yes. Well, it doesn't have to walk around out here. It's safe and sound. It can't go barging into the furniture there. That is just the point. Nothing's going to happen to it in the stove. Now, darling, darling, just because the lights have gone out, that doesn't necessarily mean at all... You don't understand, David. The chicken, our little chicken, is not going to cook in the dark. Since when does a chicken have to see itself cook? David, are you joking? No, no, no, no. What's so funny? Nothing. Except that the chicken is not going to cook because there is no electricity for it to cook in. What do you know about that? It might just as well be sitting in the refrigerator. No, no, no. Oh, yes, yes, yes. Oh, darling, can't you just smell that hamburger? Great big piece of onions. Oh, and all that cats. Oh, and toasted buns and butter. Just the way they cook it at that hamburger stand. Oh, I could eat one right now. I can even see it. And you know, it looks better in the dark every single minute. I think we ought to have bought a gas stove. Well, that's not a solution to our immediate problem. No, you're right there, it isn't. Say, where are you, Claudia? I've lost you. I'm here. Where? Here. Oh, I'm going to make a phone call. What for? I'm coming too. Then watch out for the kitchen table. Now, take it. Take it. David, you all right? I'm fine. I'm fine. You sound fine. Just a minute, I have to go back and pick up my foot. Who are you calling at this hour? I don't know, we'll see. Hello? Hello? Hello, operator? Operator, can you tell me whether the electric plant... Where? What? What? When? The electric plant. Yes. Oh, I see. What? What do you see? Well, thank you, operator. Thank you very much. What happened? Well, it's the power plant. It's out of commission. Oh, for how long? The operator said she thought it'd be out for hours. Well, at least there's nothing wrong with our fuse box. David, does it mean it's going to be dark all night? All night. And our poor little chicken will freeze to death in the oven. And all our milk and butter... I have an idea. What? Why don't we just switch the morale? Darling, are you as hungry as I am? Hungrier. I could even eat a can of baked beans. You could? Well, that's a very lucky thing. What's a very lucky thing? That you could eat baked beans. Why? Because I have just one large can of beans in the whole house. Just one large can? Yeah. Is that all? That's all I have that doesn't have to be cooked. You know, I was just telling Mama today that we're completely out of can cans. Are you sure, are you positive that this can is a can of beans? Positively. David, how hungry are you? Wait just a minute. I'll look. I really don't know how hungry I am. Have you ever eaten beans cold? Beans cold? Yes. No. No, never. Oh, dear. I'd rather go back to that hamburger stand. Would you? Well, we're home, aren't we? Yes, we're home. It's awfully cozy and dark here, isn't it? I like the dark. That's good. Do you like cold beans too? Not much. But darling, I like anything with you. What a satisfaction it is to have your teenagers enjoy their home. Any parent likes to have the children's friends drop in, sure of a welcome. Many smart mothers make it a point to keep plenty of Coca-Cola on ice to emphasize that welcome. Have a Coke is the favorite gesture of hospitality among young people. And their friends respond enthusiastically, filling the air with those amiable sounds that signify wholesome, youthful good times. Say, Joe, do you like beans? Oh, I love them. They're a real man's dish. Claudia didn't leave one on her plate either. Well, Claudia's a man's woman. Tell me, David, is she really happy living up here in the country? I hope so. I'm only afraid she'll be lonesome now with her mother in New York. So few other people around. She won't be lonesome tomorrow. I understand you to have some visitors. We are? Who? Oh, I can't tell you, but they're good friends from New York, and their visit will be well appreciated by Claudia. Sounds interesting. See you tomorrow, Joe. Bye, David. As I was about to say, every day, Monday through Friday, Claudia comes to you transcribed with the best wishes of your friendly neighbor who bottles Coca-Cola. So listen again tomorrow at the same time. And now this is Joe King saying au revoir. And remember, whoever you are, whatever you do, wherever you may be, when you think of refreshment, think of Coca-Cola. For Coca-Cola makes any pause the pause that refreshes. And ice-cold Coca-Cola is everywhere. This broadcast of Claudia was supervised and directed by William Brown Maloney. And now here's a word from your friendly neighbor who bottles Coca-Cola.