Are the Koerbers really the Brady Bunch circa 2010 ?
Posted by C. Rick Koerber on January 25, 2010
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You’ve got to be kidding. I mean Rick Koerber (that’s me) did apparently win the Salt Lake Tribune’s online poll for 2009 “Utahn of the Year.” (I too, would have hushed that up if I were the Salt Lake Tribune – LOL.) But the Brady Bunch? You’ve got to be joking.
So, its really a funny story, but to begin with, I have to confess that when I was a kid I don’t remember watching even a single episode of the Brady Bunch. Of course, I caught the general idea and essentially came to be mildly familiar with its theme and its after-run popularity. Since that time I’ve understood references to the show as simple pop culture allusions to white bread, glib, two dimensional notions of the supposed ideal family. Isn’t that pretty much everyone else’s take away when the show is now referenced in casual conversation?
Maybe it was because I was an only child raised by a struggling but dedicated, hard working cocktail waitress/bartender, single mother and my—economically speaking—lower middle class grandparents (a blended family), in anything but a traditional/typical family setting, that I really missed the boat about the message intended by the “Brady Bunch.”
You see, it was only recently that I learned the actual lyrics to the theme song (thanks to seemingly incessant re-runs and young children) and discovered that Sherwood Schwartz conceived the idea for The Brady Bunch after reading a newspaper article in the mid-1960s that said “40% of marriages in the US had a child or children from a previous marriage.”
Huh. Well, assumptions are tricky things. You see, in the midst of all the controversy surrounding me and my life this past year or so, I was pretty taken back when not long ago a professional photographer, struggling to get the eight of us to smile simultaneously, quipped, “Well, isn’t this the Brady Bunch.”
“The Brady Bunch?” I though to myself, “How funny.” You see, I thought it was funny because the comment seemed soooo out of place. It was obviously a social act of misspeak, right?
My wife and kids all seemed to laugh however, because I think they really “got it.”
The Brady Bunch circa 2010? The Koerber Family
My problem, I think, was that I just couldn’t see what was “white bread,” “glib,” or “two dimensional” about my little family. Think about it for a second….
Me – a white kid, from the poor ghetto of “North Casper” Wyoming (okay that—while true— was supposed to be at least mildly funny) who grew up listening to R&B and Hip Hop, now a mid-thirties, divorced and remarried Mormon convert, “Free Capitalist,” twice broke-once rich, entrepreneur, adoptive father of three exceptional children, now facing federal indictment, who still regularly calls out the government and corrupt bureaucrats on his increasingly popular talk radio program.
My wife – also a divorced, faithful Mormon (and mother of three awesome children), who grew up one of fifty grandchildren of a gifted scriptural and constitutional scholar, the daughter of two political, and educational reformists, who decided for herself (in what some might still suggest was a rather controversial even if bold decision) after a short stint as as a Sophomore, to forgo public schools, graduate from the Utah Home School Association, and embark on her own life mission as a teenager traveling the country with her father (and family) helping educate people about America’s Founding Fathers while at the same time building her own “Youth of America” civic awareness program for teenagers, and now an experienced businesswoman, teacher, lecturer, largely a stay-at-home mom.
Our kids – A fifteen year-old up-and-coming fashion designer, a thirteen year-old developing stage actress, a ten year old budding engineer, a five year old (convinced she’s 18) deciding between becoming a lawyer or a ballerina, a four year old convinced he can play football, basketball, baseball and help his dad fight the “bad guys” all at the same time, and a two year old who is, so far, content just enjoying life. I think the fact that we now also have one on the way might be the final straw in disqualifying the comparative metaphor?
From Age 2 to Age 15 (Yes, Mekenna, you're almost 16 already.)
Could we actually make a song out of this? It would be a long song.
Did I mention that both of my youngest boys are mixed race? I only wanted to set the record straight in case Barack and Michelle decide to advocate civil-war reparations as part of the next 2010 economic stimulus package. I want to make sure we get “our fair share.” I’m just sayin’…
So, the comment by our photographer about us being “The Brady Bunch” just stuck me funny. But then again,there has been a lot of gossip about Jewel (one of the founding partners and an executive with the Free Capitalist Project) who was at one time our live-in Nanny. Didn’t the Brady’s have one of those too? Oh boy. Well Jewel is definitely better looking than Alice – again, I’m just sayin‘.
So, in reflection does the label fit? The Brady Bunch. Hmmm.
The truth of the matter is that once you take all the disproportionate attention off of my business difficulties of ‘07 and ‘08, no political vendetta by Francine and the gang can long overshadow how much my family (with all our scratches and dents) is something for which I am exceptionally proud and thankful.
Maybe we should start a T.V. show next? We could call it Big Agape or maybe Big Ardour – or something…
***
The photographs in this blog entry were taken this past December by the “Brady Bunch” photographer I mentioned.
Bethany, turning the world upside down.
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