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Carol Perkins: Ma and Pa Kettle Click on headline for complete column. Then to continue reading more Carol Perkins articles, including the next previous ones, scroll beyond the end of this column and links to others will appear. It's never-ending fun! By Carol Perkins Lazy, shiftless, and simple-minded, Pa Kettle rocked peacefully on the dilapidated front porch of his Ozark home and smoked a pipe while his robust, boisterous and not much smarter wife, Ma Kettle, tried to shoo the kids from under her feet as she flew out the door with her broom. Video: Pa Kettle Gives His Sermon From first time I saw Ma and Pa Kettle, I was hooked From the first time I saw Ma and Pa Kettle in the 50's, I was hooked. Ma was the only one who worked, but made a mess of whatever she did. The kids (and I don't think anyone knew how many they had) were wild, dirty, and loud. No grass grew in the yard because the kids and the animals wallowed off every sprig. The house cried for paint, but Pa hadn't gotten around to that job. He had not gotten around to any job. However, all were happy. So many powerful lessons came from the show So many powerful lessons came from this show that I never considered until I was older. First, those who have little are often the ones who have the most. The Kettle home was filled with laughter and aren't we all drawn to laughter? I learned at a young age the difference between visiting people whose homes were filled with laughter and those whose were not. I hated going to the ones who acted like I might break a trinket. I loved going to Era Strange's house One placed I loved going as to my great uncle Era Strange's house (my grandmother Reece's brother). His charming wit and humor drew neighbors to his porch in the afternoons. He put on his good clothes, dabbed on some powerful after shave, and held forth with stories and tales. He wasn't a wealthy man (few people were back then), but their home oozed with warmth. Although his wife (Aunt Annie) was more serious than he, they raised five children who could have been on TV. His daughter Louise and my mother were not only cousins but best friends. Visiting Louise was like a dose of medicine. She offered me a Coke in a glass bottle when we visited and I would listen to her and my mother laugh for the next hour. Money can't buy that. Children will survive in spite of their families Next, I learned from Ma and Pa Kettle that children will survive in spite of their families. I am sure there is science to back this up, but have you noticed that kids who basically raise themselves are sometimes more self-sufficient and independent than those who are coddled? Kids who play in the rain barefooted seldom have colds while those who are wrapped up against the elements cough all night. Kids whose parents let them "loose" at the ball park and never know where they are or what they are doing until time to go home often fare better than kids whose parents keep an eye on them every minute. Ma and Pa had no idea what their kids were doing or where they were. Yet, when she rang the dinner bell, they ran for the table from every direction. Maybe we pander to our kids so much they have no original thoughts and look to us for all of life's answers. Maybe we need to let them be free a little more often. None of us function well out of our comfort zones The last lesson could be that none of us function well out of our comfort zones. If you followed the shows, Pa entered contests and the last season ended up winning a mansion (sounds like the Hillbillies a little, doesn't it) but could never adjust to that life and longed for home where he could kick off his shoes and fling open the screen door with no screen. Home is where our families are This reminds me of those who leave Metcalfe County and are gone for years and years, yet when they retire move back "home". I question why anyone who has established a life elsewhere would come back to a place with little to offer socially or economically, but the answer the always the same. "We have family here. This is home." A good friend of mine who no longer lives here put it best. She said, "Carol, you would not want to move to a new place where no one knows or cares about you. You don't know what it is like to go to the grocery store and not see one person you know. You don't know what it's like to go to church and only a few know your name. There is no place like home." Home is the place where someone knows your name. Ma and Pa understood that and left their mansion for their Ozark home. Ma and Pa Ketlle bring back memories of childhood I am not sure what made me think of Ma and Pa Kettle, but I am glad I did. Brings back some pleasant memories of my childhood. Carol Perkins, the writer of this popular CM Column, is an author, owner and operator of Main Street Screenprinting, 601 S. Main Street, Edmonton, KY, Phones 270-432-3152 and 270-670-4913 and is co-host of Susan (Susan Shirley Chambers) & Carol (Carol Sullivan Perkins) on 99.1 The Hoss, regularly live at 10amCT, each Tuesday. Watch CM Events for topics/guests on the show. This story was posted on 2015-01-25 13:04:33
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