Lucy's Chickens

I recently did something I’d always wanted to.

I watched all 179 episodes of I Love Lucy in order. I didn’t binge on them watching them back to back. But, I did start at the beginning with “The Girls Want to Go to a Nightclub” which originally aired on October 15, 1951 and concluded with “The Ricardos Dedicate a Statue” with an original airdate of May 6, 1957. I’d watch two or three episodes before bed or when I had some time. I didn’t check when I started, and I was interrupted by a weeklong trip to Georgia. So, I had no rush or a timetable; I just wanted to watch them in order over time at leisure.

I’ve been a fan of both Lucy and Lucille Ball for years. I’ve often remarked to myself and those other fans I know, how moments of our life today can be found in I Love Lucy.

We can even learn lessons from the original Fab Four-and-a-half; Lucy, Ricky, Fred, Ethel and, of course, Little Ricky. 

I’ve been exploring a possible relationship with someone very close to me. Yeah, I know. Why explore a relationship with someone not close to me? But, he is a very dear friend and I believe that the friendship itself would be the foundation for something really special between us. But, I digress from Lucy.

Lucy and the black eye

I was watching the Connecticut episodes near the end of the series when this lesson hit me harder than when Ricky tossed the book at Lucy giving her a black eye.

This lesson was about me in this possible relationship.

I’ve always had the tendency to think of the negative when things don’t go as anticipated. He and I have no set rules as when we will contact each other, but we try every day to chat at least once in the morning and once in the evening, sort of a "good morning" and a "sleep well" chat. When he can't make the morning chat, he lets me know ahead of time. So, I've come to anticipate this pattern. I understand things come up and he might not respond as quickly as I might, or our timing might be off due to said interruptions. Frequently, I have jumped to the conclusion that he either forgot me, found someone else, or simply changed his mind and has ghosted me, in spite of his many reassurances he’s not going anywhere. (At least I’m not picturing him lying dead in a ditch somewhere. I’d call that progress.)

Every time things haven’t gone per our pattern, I’ve asked or he’s immediately explained what happened and I find our communication gratifying, though I’m sure he must be getting tired of my insecurity.

Back to Lucy. In a pair of episodes, Ricky and Lucy decide to raise chickens to sell the eggs and the Mertzes move to Connecticut to manage the business. After a few missteps, Ricky gets tired of waiting for the hens to begin laying so he decides to sell them and get out of the egg business. When the poultry man arrives to buy the chickens, they are missing. Spotting one of the missing hens in Ethel’s hatbox, Ricky then accuses Fred of being a chicken thief whereupon Fred accuses Ricky of planting the hen in the hatbox to scapegoat Fred and cop the profit for himself. The argument escalates to where all four adults end up accusing each other with Lucy and Ethel also getting swept up in the accusations when some hens are discovered in the Ricardo’s living room. 

As it turns out, no one is a chicken thief as Little Ricky, wanting to keep the chickens, conspired with his next door neighbor to hide them!

And that’s when it hit me, the reason for many misunderstandings is rarely as severe as we often make it. These four adults were jumping to conclusions when the reason behind the missing chickens was simpler than they thought. 

So, the next time things might not go according to our pattern, I’ll invoke this episode to remind me, that the reason of my doubts and fears is far less complicated than the conclusion I’m jumping to. 

And no one is a chicken thief.