Good Room

Something I’ve always wondered about is “good living rooms”. Growing up my aunt and uncle, Marlys and Stanly, as well as my good friend in high school, Marvin had “good living rooms” They had the regular living rooms where you’d watch tv and well, live, but the “good” living rooms were like a forbidden haven. Both of the “good living rooms” had plastic on the carpets and furniture, and were not to be stepped upon by my feet. Marvin’s parents would yell from the actual living room downstairs, “You damn

Kids ain’t in the living room are you?” Marv would yell, “Nope, we’re drinking beer in the kitchen.” You’d think they would have rather had us in the living room. Once I asked my mom why Marlys and Stanly had plastic on the carpet and furniture in the good living room and she said, “people do that to keep it nice for company.” I always thought, ‘well, what am I? I’m company aren’t I? Who do I have to be to be considered good enough to go into the “good” living room?’ Once I remember spilling Kool-aid on the garage floor at Marlys’ and I thought, ‘great. Now I’ll never make it into the good room.”