Building A Footstool

Originally Aired: March 10, 1942 Fibber McGee & Molly #317, "Building A Footstool," Fibber becomes determined to build Molly a footstool from scratch rather than let her buy the perfectly good one she's spotted in an advertisement for $12.95. Convinced of his superior carpentry skills, he dismisses the advertised footstool as a "rickety unseasoned hammer scratch" piece of junk and orders woodworking tools from the hardware store. When Old Timer delivers the supplies, there's the usual confusion over the bill, which somehow includes an 85 cents charge for coffee. Fibber plans to work in the living room, but Molly worries he'll wake Uncle Dennis, who's napping upstairs after discovering his gin rummy outing was actually about card games rather than the beverage. The McGees receive a visit from their elegant neighbor Mrs. Uppington, who invites them to a fish dinner featuring mountain trout from her brother. This prompts Fibber to launch into one of his trademark tall tales about catching a big trout from the Pahooshka Pool using a Mac truck full of sponges. After securing the dinner invitation, Fibber returns to his woodworking project, proudly announcing he's sawed off two legs for the footstool, though Molly points out she was hoping for four.