The Bob Eubanks Guilt Trip
Whenever I look in my fridge, I think about The Newlywed Game and Bob Eubanks. Eubanks, the host of the 1960’s game show, asked contestants questions and couples had to guess what their mates said. There was one question I’ve never forgotten: What’s the oldest thing in your fridge? At the time I was a teenager, and the idea of things rotting in a corner of someone’s fridge was disgusting to me. My mother kept our family refrigerator sparkling clean. I assumed it was easy to do. I didn’t know I would grow up to be one of those people whose cleaning policy on messes behind closed doors would be: if you can’t see it, it doesn’t exist, until, of course, it starts to smell. And I had no idea at the time that Eubanks’ question would stick in my mind and come back to haunt me.
The Bob Eubanks fridge question is like another one asked by my grandmother. I went to church with her once and when the service was over, she asked me what the sermon was about. 
I remember feeling put out that she would quiz me because my parents were not in the habit of doing that. She may have only asked the question once, but it was enough to make me listen to sermons after that and prepare my answer for what it was about if anyone should ask. Not only that, but the same thing happens when I hear a lecture of any kind. I have an imaginary grandmother in my head quizzing me and a game show host asking me about my housecleaning.
But Bob Eubanks has never been enough to get me to clean the fridge when it gets really bad. For that I use an imaginary visit from my mother who still keeps a clean fridge, or one from my grandmother. It motivates me every time.
Post Notes: Typing this in my upstairs office Saturday morning, Joe woke up and called up to me, “What’s it all about, Alfie?” “Bob Eubanks and the Guilt Trip, that’s what,” I answered. “What? What’s that, the name of a new band?” “No, it’s a new blog post that oddly came from a Sunday Scribblings prompt, “fridge space,” I answered.
More Sunday Scribblings on Fridge Space are HERE.
February 9th, 2008 1:10 pm
lol don’t you just hate it when the mold begins to grow?! yikes! i do ok with things on shelves. it is when food gets hidden in the drawers inside the fridge that my problems begin!
February 9th, 2008 1:11 pm
That is one place where I am a bit anal is my fridge. I hate for it to be dirty or have old things in it. It was the place my mom actually held on to everything. Every little leftover bite we had to save and then throw out a month later. I guess we go back and forth from what our moms did! – Now my oven….my oven could be just nasty and I don’t see it. Martin takes that job own when he gives up on me doing it…ever.
February 9th, 2008 1:14 pm
I love this and think it would make a great band name.
Also- FABULOUS ‘Born OK the first time’ sticker…I just googled to order one.
February 9th, 2008 2:56 pm
i’m totally with you on the fridge thing…. i had to laugh at the “if you can’t see it, it doesn’t exist, until, of course, it starts to smell” part .
February 9th, 2008 3:07 pm
Coll, We can add this to our list. I’m not a fridge person either! It’s closed so nobody can see it. I also don’t like the dishwasher much either. Once the dishes are clean…it seems so fruitless moving clean dishes from one enclosed space to another (lol!). It’s one of my worst jobs to do. xo
February 9th, 2008 3:19 pm
Love a person who clutters up her fridge with wonderful stickers and pictures. A clean fridge without all the stuff hanging on it scares me!!
February 9th, 2008 3:20 pm
I think that George Carlin has something about mystery food in his stand up routine. Goes along with;”Honey, what’s this is in the fridge? Could be meat, could be cake, could be meat cake.”
“I don’t know, smell it to see if it’s good.”
“I can’t smell anything.”
“Then it’s good!”
We kind of go by that guideline, kind of scary ain’t it? But then there’s the left over lunches we just found in my son’s snowboard bag…space the final frontier, the area occupying his head sometimes.” At least I don’t have that going on in the refrigerator.
February 9th, 2008 4:47 pm
I cleaned my fridge out this week. Unfortunately it was AFTER I loaded the dishwasher and turned it on -and after the kitchen floors had been cleaned!! When will I ever learn?
February 9th, 2008 5:48 pm
And once again you have written a very original and fun post. I would never have been able to tie together grandmothers, Bob Eubanks and refrigerators!! Sounds like a nightmare of a writing lesson assignment to me. But you are the ever creative soul and come up with something interesting and fun.
February 9th, 2008 7:20 pm
hehehe that was good!
I completely understand. If the fridge is a mess I’ll probably look at my mother in shock but I’m just a lazy one that doesn’t have to do it herself 😉
And our imaginary grandmothers are powerful beings!
February 9th, 2008 8:19 pm
Michele sent me 🙂
Oldest thing in my fridge is a half gone multipack of chocolate bars … I’d put one in my cricket bag to give me a sugar rush at half time. I haven’t played much cricket lately so, the choccy bars are still there !
February 9th, 2008 9:07 pm
What a wonderful combination of ideas, creating a very engaging prompt. Staring aimlessly inside my fridge with plenty to choose from, but nothing to eat, makes me the oldest thing in mine…
February 10th, 2008 4:21 am
It’s strange, isn’t it, how certain voices and questions just stick in one’s head. I have a horrible suspicion though that I may from now on, have a “fridge voice” stuck in my head. In future I shall be sure to open the fridge with a blindfold on! 😉
February 10th, 2008 12:09 pm
I am one of those fridge fetish person. I keep it clean. In other things I am sloppy!
Spaced Out
February 10th, 2008 1:34 pm
What I don’t understand is how the fridge gets so messy in the first place? I mean, what does the food get up to when you shut the door and the light goes off?
February 10th, 2008 6:24 pm
What?? You mean if you can’t see it it’s THERE? Lord have mercy, I’m in trouble.
February 10th, 2008 8:23 pm
Our fridge stays very clean, except the vegetable drawer. We do our best, but there’s always a tomato or a peach gone-holy-to-Jesus in there. Of course, this would be the Jesus who leaves the cap off the toothpaste, so I’m pretty sure I’m forgiven. 😉
~S
February 10th, 2008 9:00 pm
My gets so bad that entire pans and plates get thrown out and replaced because I am too grossed out to wash them!
February 11th, 2008 12:01 pm
Hm that was a useful question put to you to last a lifetime. I bet she intended that in her wisdom. I don’t think I want to know what is the oldest thing in there. Think I’ll go chuck a few things with that in mind tho.
February 11th, 2008 3:19 pm
LOL This was great! You had me giggling the whole way through. Thanks!
February 11th, 2008 5:10 pm
I thought that’s why closets and fridges had doors? Hmmm. Well, maybe I’ll take another look at mine. Love your post!