 Your coca-cola bottler presents, Claudia. Claudia, based on the original stories by Rose Franken, brought to you transcribed Monday through Friday by your friendly neighbor who bottles Coca-Cola. Relax, and while you're listening, refresh yourself. Have a Coke. And now, Claudia. Claudia, now that we're back on the street, could you kindly explain to me why you insisted on going shopping today? Why not, Mama? Why not go shopping? It's not a good enough reason to go shopping. Good enough for me? You didn't buy a thing. We walked through that entire store and you couldn't find one thing you wanted. Wasn't the store beautiful and empty? So we went shopping just because you hated the idea of the store running around empty. Well, I just thought if I had something to buy, this would be a good day to do it. Before the big rush on returning Christmas presents begins. You didn't have any shopping to do. Just because I didn't happen to see anything I wanted. Oh, what's the use of trying to get you to behave sensibly? Let's go home. Fine. We shouldn't have taken the car downtown in the first place. The bus is a lot safer. Oh, you and David, you have no faith in me at all. Did we have one accident? Just one little accident on the way down? You tried hard enough. There's no fault of yours we didn't. Claudia, are you sure you know where you left that parking lot? Yes, it's right where it was. I think it's just one more block up this street. Mama, how do you think he is? How do you think who is? The Dane, of course. Bluff. You know, he just loves driving around. He sticks his head out of the window. It's sweet, isn't it? Precious. I think he thinks it's safer to be half out of the car than all in it. Claudia, I wish you'd do what David says and leave the car in the garage where it belongs. That parking lot, now where was it? I just can't, now let me think. You know, I don't believe in parking lots anyway. You don't. You pay 75 cents an hour just to leave a car sitting around. It's highway robbery, that's what it is. If that little man hadn't taken all that empty space and put his parking lot on it, there's plenty of room for me to park my car for nothing. Well, here we are at the corner. That's queer. We came out of it, turned right. You're sure we did. Claudia, what is that ahead of us? Well, for heaven's sakes. Mama, it's the parking lot. I could have sworn it would... Don't. Well, I'm certainly glad we're here. You get in, Mama. Hello, you old bluffer, old thing. It's funny, when I came in here, there were hardly any other cars. Now I'm surrounded. It's a free country. Exactly. And I pay 75 cents like everybody else. You think they could have left me a little more room? That's 75 cents. Certainly seems to upset you. It does. Push those cars out of me on the right, on the left, and back of me off. There's nothing in front of you. You just drive straight out, frontwards. There isn't much place to drive straight out, frontwards. Well, go slowly, then nothing much can happen. Nothing is going to happen? The key? So far, so good. The brakes? Now, don't you think you ought to keep them on for long? Mama, do you know how to drive? No, but I admit it. All right. The brake. No reason for it to be on? No. All I'm going to do is start the car. Now, the starter. Oh, Claudia. What happened? I hadn't even started it. The car couldn't have moved. I didn't even have it in first. Such twat? First gear, it's up here on reverse. It did jump backwards. I don't see how we could. What's this thing doing in reverse anyway? Claudia, aren't you even going to look at what you did to that other car? Couldn't have done very much. I just bumped into it. I think you have killed it. You are an alarmist. And here comes the owner of the corpse now. Mama, what are you going to say? What am I going to say? Say, listen here. Do you realize... Oh, oh, I'm sorry. I thought that... Yes? Well, that's my car you just backed into. Oh, it is? I was just getting ready to pull out. It's too bad I didn't get started a little sooner. But it made it a lot easier. Claudia. Did it hurt you very much? Well, nothing that can't be fixed. See, Mama? They can fix practically anything these days. Say, is that your dog there on the floor? He's an awful coward, scared to death of strangers. Well, don't tell the strangers he looks wicked. We call him Bluff. Stand up, Bluff. Try to make an impression. Oh, leave him alone. He's happy. They call me Jim. Jim Grant. And my name is Claudia Norton. This is my mother. How do you do? How are you? I must apologize for my daughter. Well, not at all. Nothing to apologize for. I guess I better go look and see what I did. Coming, Mama? No. I'll just stay here with Bluff. Thank you. But these cars are so close together. Yes, it's very inconsiderate of them. Makes pulling out so difficult. Well, I'm glad to hear that. Mama thinks I'm the only person who bumps into other cars. See? That's all you did. Oh, I mashed in the front. Well, it just looks worse than it is. And there's water running out. I didn't know there was water in a car. Just gasoline. Water, too, but water's free. What about your car? I mean, it has to be fixed, doesn't it? Well, that's nothing for you to worry about. I'm insured and I expect you're insured. Me? Well, your car, it's insured, isn't it? I suppose so. Then you just tell your insurance company about it and they'll get in touch with mine. But will it cost me very much? It won't cost you a cent. The insurance company will pay. Oh, I see. That's very sweet of them. Won't they mind? You're very funny. I don't see what's so funny about that. If I were the insurance company, I'd mind terribly. Well, if you do this very often, maybe. But otherwise, it's all in the day's work for them. Some people do the strangest kind of work. Now, here you are. Here's my car and I've written the name of my insurance company on it. Thank you very much. I'll put it in my pocket so I won't lose it. Well, bye. It's been very nice meeting you. Goodbye. I hope I see you again sometime. I hope so. I'm a physicist. I work in a lab in Stanford and I'm pretty busy, but there's always time for what you like. Yes, isn't there? Well, goodbye. Look, I'll try to pull out first, and then it won't matter which direction your car decides to go in. My car goes where I decide sometimes. So does mine sometimes. Ha, ha, ha, ha. Well, dinner and the dishwasher's hard at work. How would you like to sit on my lap and tell me what's been happening today? I'd love to sit on your lap. But nothing's been happening. Well, you must have done something. Nothing much. I thought about the souffle for dinner for a while. No wonder it was so light. I'd prefer to ignore that. Your new pipe smells nice. They're digging over the souffle. They take you the whole day. Didn't you go out? Oh, yes, Mom. And I went shopping this afternoon. Again? But we didn't get anything. Oh. We drove downtown, though. Drove? In a cab, I trust. You'd expect me to spend money on a cab when we have a perfectly good car sitting around in the garage. Did you park the car? I did. Without any trouble at all. Oh, you were improving, darling. I parked it eight times and backwards. But there was a fire hydrant. They leave them in the most impractical places. Thoughtless of the fire department. So then what? Then I finally had to leave the car in a parking lot. It's a jib. It's just as expensive as taking a cab. But taking the car costs less, I thought. David. Hmm? Do insurance companies always pay for the things you do to other people's cars? If you're insured, they do. Are we insured? Sure we're insured. That's good. I insure everything the minute that we... Claudia, what did you say? I said, that's good. Why? Isn't it? I don't know yet. Why do you care if we're insured? Because it'll save us a lot of money. What have you done? I haven't done anything. He said it wasn't anything at all. Who said? The man whose car our car hit. Our car hit somebody else's car? David, your nostrils are wiggling. How do you see why you're so angry? I'm not angry. I just want to know what happened. Nothing happened. I told you besides we're insured. So whatever happened doesn't matter at all. Claudia, no matter what you tell me, I promise not to shout. I'm not the least bit angry. Not the least bit. Now, just begin at the beginning and tell me quietly one step at a time everything that's happened. David, honestly, such a fuss. You parked the car in the parking space. And I left Bluff in it. Then you went shopping. You didn't buy anything. You went back to the car. And that's when it happened. What? The car wasn't even moving, David. I was practically standing still. But you ran into somebody. Backwards. He wasn't there when I parked the car. Oh, he sneaked up on you. Exactly. Because I just put my foot on the starter and the car jumped back. You left the car in gear, you clock. I did not. It was in reverse. And then it stopped again. I knew it wasn't supposed to. No, no, no. Now, darling, darling, calmly. What did our stupid car do to the other man's car? Well, it kind of mashed in that griddle in the front. Oh, no. And then some water spilled out. Not much. Oh, no. That's all. That's all. That's not enough, I suppose. Do you know what that will cost? Of course I do. Not a dime, you said so yourself. It's the insurance company. It's the principle of the thing. What is? Darling, I've been home for two hours and you didn't tell me a word of this. Now, why? I want to know why. Because nothing happened, David. Our car is perfectly all right. We're insured. And the man was very nice about it. He was nice about it, eh? Lovely. Not the least little bit angry. Was he a young man or an older man? Very young. Younger than you, I'd say. But older than me. Oh, older than you, huh? David, what's the matter? Aren't you pleased he was so nice? Delighted. He said it didn't bother him at all. Even though he probably won't be able to use that car for weeks. He's a physicist, so he's very busy. You know all about him, of course. He told me his name is, um, Grant. Nice simple name. David, are you jealous? No, no, no. No, except if I'd bumped into his car like that, I'd probably be in jail. Why? Claudia... Claudia, I wish you would never, never drive again. That's not fair. I didn't hurt our car. I don't see... Well, if you drive it, we won't have it very long. This is the most colossal conceit. If there were more women drivers... There'd be fewer men. The mortality would be so high, but nevertheless, if you insist on driving... I do. All right. I bow to your will. I will try to teach you to drive. I know how to drive. Well, not so anyone would know it. But I shall sacrifice humanity and take you on a nice, quiet, empty country road and teach you. No, can't be tomorrow. Sunday? I should say not. It's bad enough you have to be a woman driver. Do you want to be a, a Sunday driver, too? These programs star Catherine Bard as Claudia and Paul Crabtree as David. And the entire production is supervised and directed by William Brown Maloney. You can't force sociability. It just grows like topsy when conditions are relaxed and friendly. But you can help it along. There's no doubt about that simply by saying have a Coke. Everyone seems to enjoy homes where there's plenty of refreshing Coca-Cola in the refrigerator. Yours can easily be such a home now that there's more Coke available again. Every day, Monday through Friday, Claudia comes to you transcribed with the best wishes of your friendly neighbor who bottles Coca-Cola. So listen again Monday at the same time. And now this is joking saying, or it war and remember, whoever you are, whatever you do, wherever you may be. When you think of refreshment, think of Coca-Cola or ice cold Coca-Cola makes any pause the pause that refreshes.