Early To Bed

Originally Aired: February 18, 1941 Fibber McGee & Molly #275, "Early To Bed," Fibber makes an uncharacteristic decision to turn in early at 8:30 PM to get a good night's rest before appearing on the Lux Radio Theater the following week. Molly is astonished by this sudden change in her husband's habits after years of staying up late. However, their plans for ten hours of beauty sleep are immediately derailed when a series of interruptions begin. First, little Teeny stops by and Fibber regales her with an elaborate tale about pixies filling reservoirs with melted snow, only to be corrected by the precocious child's knowledge of equinoxes. Then Mrs. Uppington arrives asking for help with her broken-down automobile in front of their house. Despite his bedtime plans, Fibber can't resist showing off his automotive expertise, boasting about his days as "Big Stinker McGee" at the Biggs bodyworks. He launches into one of his trademark tongue-twisting alliterations about his mechanical prowess before spending three hours in the freezing cold working on Uppington's car, only to discover it was simply out of gasoline. By 1:30 AM, as the exhausted couple finally prepares for bed, strange sounds on the front porch suggest their eventful evening may not be over yet.