Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson for August 02, 2022

Fickle urchins…

you and me both, Mr. Danders

I love Alice’s little summer dress today. So sweet with her coloring. However, more to the point, I had a houseful of seven kids back in the 80’s and there were some days when I wanted to shoot laundry.

I bet Dill’s brothers shoot laundry and a lot else. As a little kid visiting out in the country, I remember being fascinated by a laundry chute in the upstairs hallway of an old house in Virginia. The owner of the house, an elderly great aunt, smoked cigarettes in a holder (a la FDR). Her father was actually in the Civil War as a teenager!

Seems like Kevin lives in a different cul-de-sac.

No outrage at Big Head Kevin?

My aunt’s house had a laundry chute. It was fun to throw things down it.

My childhood house had a laundry chute in the bathroom upstairs. In the basement we kept a long steel rod to clear the chute when wet towels, etc. would get stuck.

Mr. Danders and Alice finally found something to agree on!

I liked going down the laundry chute. But for some reason, mom and grandma didn’t appreciate having some dumb kid landing in the laundry heap below…

My mother said she would shoot me if I didn’t put the dirty clothes in the hamper.

Ah, the whimsical itinerary of a preschooler. Good times. R.T. masterfully illustrates the little gems of childhood and life.

Mr. Danders, dropped like a hot potatoe, for the thrill of a laundry shoot. The life of a timeshare pet is not as glamorous at it might seem.

Despite her often remarkable vocabulary, today Alice does not know the difference between chute and shoot. And, for that matter, neither does the pompous Mr. Danders.

Meanwhile, how fickle are the spectators!…