Podcast Summary

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Host: Harold’s Old Time Radio
Episode: The Johnson Wax Program With Fibber McGee and Molly 1940-12-10 - Mailing Christmas Packages
Air Date: December 14, 2025 (Rebroadcast)
Original Air Date: December 10, 1940

Episode Overview

This episode features a rebroadcast of the classic radio comedy "Fibber McGee and Molly," specifically the December 10, 1940 installment titled "Mailing Christmas Packages." The episode revolves around Fibber and Molly navigating the chaos of mailing holiday presents at the post office—a comedic reflection on seasonal traditions, crowds, and neighborly interactions in mid-century America. The humor is built on witty banter, memorable character interactions, and the relatable stress of holiday errands.

Key Discussion Points & Segments

1. Preparing Christmas Packages (03:08–04:45)

• Fibber and Molly are at 79 Wistful Vista, preparing armfuls of Christmas packages to mail:

  • Debate about whether to mail Uncle Dennis’s gift since he’ll be visiting.
  • Quote:
    • Molly: "He's going to be with us here for Christmas?"
    • Fibber, dryly: "Oh, Happy Yuletide." (03:18)

• Light-hearted banter about Molly’s gifts and wordplay confusion between “casserole,” “camisole,” and “castor oil.”

  • Quote:
    • Fibber: "Oh, a camisole, eh?"
    • Molly: "No, you mean casserole, dearie. ... Go on, that's castor oil." (05:12–05:29)

2. A Visit from Mr. Gildersleeve (05:53–09:52)

• Mr. Gildersleeve arrives, arms filled with gifts and asks Fibber and Molly to mail his packages for him too.
• Friendly, competitive banter over stamps and neighborhood goodwill turns into stamp-order confusion:
  • Gildersleeve: “The last time I bought a 2 cent stamp in a drugstore, I came home with a hot water bottle, a toy submarine, three rolls of film…” (07:37)
  • Argument over whether 4-cent stamps exist.
    • Quote:
      • Gildersleeve: "They do too!"
      • Fibber: "They do not!" (08:46)
• Fibber boasts of his (questionable) postal experience in a tongue-twister monologue:
  • Quote:
    • Fibber: "I started working in the post office when I was knee high to a mailbox. ... Celebrated as a salary saving super salesman..." (09:11–09:47)

3. Arrival at the Post Office (13:06–16:54)

• Overwhelmed by crowds and long lines at the post office, Fibber and Molly join the masses.
  • Observations and gripes about the slow line, heavy packages, and peculiar customers.
  • Encounter with Mrs. Uppington and her prize Pekingese, Fifi:
    • Uppington: "Fifi is a very intelligent dog and very valuable, too. She's worth at least $2,000."
    • Fibber: "That’s more than I’m worth." (16:40–16:54)

4. Line Humor and Encounters (17:15–21:01)

• Molly’s fatigue leads to workplace jokes:
  • Molly: “My feet are beginning to agitate for better working conditions.” (17:27)
• Fibber interacts with a little girl mailing a letter to Santa Claus, featuring playful confusion over “permissions” (persimmons, permissions/permission):
  • Little Girl: "Permission’s a kind of fruit that makes the picker pucker." (18:24)
  • Sweet moment about children writing Santa letters for their fathers’ sake:
    • "I bet you all us kids do that because our papas all believe in Santa Claus." (19:19)
• Harlow Wilcox appears, squeezing in an ad for Johnson’s Wax cleverly disguised as conversation (20:08–20:37).

5. Encounters with the Old Timer & Boomer (21:24–28:05)

• The Old Timer shares a far-fetched family story about his sister Nellie, a Pony Express rider who disappeared with the mail—injecting nostalgic tall-tale humor.
• Quote:
  • Old Timer: "She was a Pony express rider in 1848. One day she disappeared, mail bag and all." (21:41)
• Horatio K. Boomer, a known “crook,” comes to the post office to write his mother’s letter—prompting jokes about "walking away from a federal pen."
  • Boomer: “Feels wonderful to be able to walk away from a federal pen without hearing bloodhounds in the distance.” (26:40)

6. Queue Frustration and the Final Post Office Irony (28:18–29:24)

• After hours of waiting, they reach the front—only to be told they’re at the wrong window.
  • Exchange:
    • Fibber: “Now weigh them packages and tell me how much postage.”
    • Postal Clerk: “Sorry, sir, can’t do that here. … This is the money order window.”
    • Molly: “We’ve been standing here three hours!”
    • Clerk: “You’ll have to get in the other long line.” (28:44–28:58)
• Defeated but in good spirits, ending with a wink at the shared tribulations of holiday errands.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Molly: "McGee, this man's standing in front of me. I wish he'd turn around and face the way everybody else is. He's got a blank look on his face. That bothers me somehow." (13:51)
• Fibber (to a man in line): "Hey bud, you got your toupee on backwards." (14:04)
• Mrs. Uppington: "Fifi is worth at least $2,000."
  Fibber: "That's more than I'm worth." (16:50–16:54)
• Little Girl: "So why should we tell them [our fathers] any different if it makes them happy?" (19:26)
• Boomer: "Feels wonderful to be able to walk away from a federal pen without hearing bloodhounds in the distance." (26:40)
• Fibber (At front of the line but at the wrong window): “You’ll have to get in that long line over there.” (28:58)

Timestamps of Important Segments

• [03:08] — Fibber and Molly prepare to mail Christmas packages
• [05:53] — Mr. Gildersleeve’s visit and stamp confusion
• [09:11–09:47] — Fibber’s rapid “stamping at the Savoy” monologue
• [13:06] — Arrival at the crowded post office
• [14:20] — Encounter with Mrs. Uppington and $2,000 prize dog
• [17:32] — Conversation with the little girl and Santa letter
• [20:08] — Harlow Wilcox’s cameo (sly Johnson’s Wax ad)
• [21:24] — The Old Timer’s Pony Express family tall tale
• [26:40] — Boomer’s comic bits in the post office
• [28:44–28:58] — Fibber and Molly finally at the window—at the wrong place

Tone & Style

The episode is marked by rapid-fire wordplay, good-natured sarcasm, and gentle absurdity, all reflecting the escapism and communal spirit of golden-age radio comedy. Fibber is characteristically boastful and bumbling, Molly ever-practical but indulgent, and the supporting cast provide a parade of eccentrics that exaggerate the foibles of real-life holiday errands.

Summary Takeaway

This classic slice-of-life comedy episode is a nostalgic, highly relatable farce about the trials of mailing Christmas packages in a crowded post office. The show remains a time capsule of vintage humor, quick wit, and neighborly one-upmanship, all in the stress and merriment of the holiday rush—capped with a perfectly executed punchline that many listeners will know all too well: after waiting hours, Fibber and Molly find they’ve stood in the wrong line all along.