By Ricky Swindle

Muffler Shop Musings

Howdy, friends!

I feel like that gal on HeeHaw, Mary Ann Rogers, who used to say, “It’s been an exasperating day.”

It’s been an exasperating several days on my end to put it mildly.

The “little” medical procedure I had done was quite a bit more intense than my mind had predicted. But I always do that.

I sincerely try to seek out the most positive aspects of most everything I experience. It does tend to bring me down a peg or two though when I realize that maybe I should have concentrated a little more on the downside of things.

Pain is pain and they have meds prescribed to dampen that sensation. I take great pride in the fact that the majority of my pain meds still remain in the bottle.

(The answer is a resounding no to anyone who asks for my unused pain meds. I do not rent, sell, give away or loan narcotics. I put this in here for future reference as the question has been put forth on previous occasions)

What happens to working people when they are sidetracked from their daily routine is unique. Boredom is the most difficult feature to overcome.

All your friends who you are used to talking and interacting with on a daily basis are doing what? They are working. No one has the time to be checking, nurse-maiding you while you are down and you don’t want nor expect them to. You know good and well they are working and you being a worker yourself are not going to disturb them either.

I am very fortunate to have a wife who is a masters degree educated registered nurse. She is a gifted and trained trauma nurse and has worked at The Med ER and other ER’s over her 30  years career along with 10 years and over 700 flights on Air Evac.

My wound is probably no worse than a hangnail compared to the sights she has witnessed over her career, but she made sure I was comfortable and did her best to take care of me all that I would allow. I am not a very good patient in her opinion.

But even with having, in my humble opinion, the best nurse in the South, my nurse had to go back to her job because that is what working folks do – go to their jobs.

So, there I was, alone with a television for entertainment.

Oh my, how can folks just sit and watch this thing constantly? It almost drove me batty until I discovered The Peacock channel. It is one of those internet channels that my bride set up for me after she stole my DirecTV.

While scrolling through the massive menu of the channel on my smart TV I discovered a hidden gem. Old episodes of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson were just sitting there waiting to be viewed.

Johnny, Ed McMahon, Doc Severinson and Tommy Newsom all back to life on my screen. The recorded episodes I viewed started in 1973. I was nine years old at the time and I never got to watch Johnny until I was grown, so I had never seen those shows.

They are great. Johnny Carson will always be the king of late night TV and he accomplished that great feat by just sitting back and allowing his guests to speak and entertain.

It’s difficult to watch talk shows these days because the host’s want to do all the talking. I guess Johnny was such a big star that he didn’t have qualms about a guest upstaging him. He more or less just turned them loose. He’d just sit there, smoking a cigarette and talking to his company.

The clothes though were wild in the 70’s. I probably have laughed as much at the outfits as I have the actual show. I remember all those white belts and shoes back in the day along with those leisure suits. The 70’s were definitely colorful.

Today’s culture would no longer accept Don Rickles either. The man was a nut, but I’ll give him this, he never culled, he ridiculed everyone. He was an equal opportunity harasser.

Flip Wilson, Jack Benny, Ann Margaret and the list goes on and on. You were not a true star if you never got to sit on Johnny’s couch. Comedians knew they had made it to the big time if Johnny motioned them over after their sets. If he did not, it was back to the drawing board.

My new found enthusiasm with the legendary show caused me to break out my computer and do a little research.

I discovered that Johnny graduated from Millsaps College in Jackson and was in the Navy during WWII where he was an amateur boxer with a 10-0 record.

Ed was a retired Marine colonel who was a fighter pilot and trained fighter pilots for the Marines.

Doc Severinson is the last remaining Tonight Show star.  He is 94 years old and was still actively touring with his band until Covid.

I guess that was all I needed to combat my boredom. Watching the show caused me to look up and investigate it so that helped to pass some time.

By Wednesday, I hitchhiked a ride to town with my daughter to go to the shop for a couple of hours. Thursday, to my wife’s displeasure, I drove up there myself in my pick-up truck.

I enjoyed Johnny Carson and his crew but working folks have to do what working folks do, and that’s get back to work. I have to have structure and routine in my life. My mind requires it.

Take care of yourself folks and don’t worry about me. I plan to keep putting that best foot forward as my Daddy used to say.

See y’all on the internet radio 9 to 11 a.m.  Saturdays on www.undefinedradio.com.