Uncle Matt and the Meatball

Life, August 5, 1940

I usually try to find a hilarious (sort of) title for posts on my own, but this lovely ad from 1940 (bigger version here) already had a title that I couldn't improve upon. Perfection. Just like Millie's dinner dilemma and its thrilling outcome.

Gee, I was mad! Joe's Uncle Matt invited himself to dinner at the last minute.

Sing it, sister. I would be, too. But I guess I'd just serve Uncle Matt what we were going to have anyway. Hope you like leftover chili, sir. But Millie decides to go All Out with Birds Eye this, that and the other: Birds Eye chopped meat made into meatballs (big surprise!), Birds Eye frozen spinach, and Birds Eye wax beans. Why, Millie loves Birds Eye so much she even appears to have a Birds Eye plaque up on her wall. Maybe Biff put up the painting of Uncle Matt next to it.

But I don't know why she's so darn happy that Uncle Matt is a man about whom one says not "He is so much fun" or "Oh Biff, look at the nice bottle of wine your uncle brought" but "Gee, can that man put away food!"

Result, aside from everyone talking about the merits of Birds Eye all evening? Uncle Matt declares that he is coming to Sunday dinner every week from now on. Millie, you really should have just dished out a scoop of last week's chili.