What Would Lucy Think?

Last night, my wife and I watched the final dance competition on 'ABC's' Dancing with the Stars.'

When we married nearly fifty-three years ago, I never imagined that my wife and I would one day sit in our living room watching half-naked women cavorting in sensuous dance moves.  Let's face it we are products of Dick Clark's 'American Bandstand' generation. Come to think of it, people our age never would imagine a show such as 'DWTS' could possibly be aired on prime time television. Here the case for making that assumption: 'I Love Lucy.'  The I Love Lucy Show was somewhat of a 'ground-breaking' series for television on two fronts. First, Lucille Ball was the first woman to 'carry' a comedy series being the 'lead' personality over a male co-star. Secondly, Lucille Ball's 'real life' pregnancy was written into the show series. The so-called pregnancy television series NEVER SHOWED Lucy's bulging-baby-belly;' for goodness sakes that was censored!

 People of my vintage will quickly remind the younger folks that the 1950's social norm was to keep pregnancies 'in-the-closet.'  During my high school days (1954-1957), a pregnant girl attending school was taboo.  As a society, we hid pregnancy as if it were the result of 'sin;' a leftover from the Puritans, I am SURE.

Of course, along with (DWTS) pole-dancing routines without the pole, we now have a sundry of more risque' television shows. It's okay, after all we Americans have an insatiable preoccupation with 'sex;' just ask Jerry Springer and Maury Povich.