The Peanut Heads


A couple of days ago, the news had a "Important events on this day" segment. The main focus was that Apollo 11 had returned to earth after the first moon walk 34 years ago.
Wow. That brought back some memories. It was a little after my trip through the French doors. I was still healing up, but couldn't wait to watch it. Even at 4 years old I knew that I would remember this for the rest of my life. Every detail would be burned in my brain, so I could tell my children and grandkids. I remember the excitement of my entire family. I remember my Dad telling me " Look up at the sky. Tonight there's life on another world" I remember my family sitting around the TV waiting for this historic event .I also remember sitting next to me was the planters Peanut Man. Complete with a monocle, top hat, and cane.
Whoa.
that's not right I thought.
I closed my eyes and tried to think back again. Not only could I remember the Peanut Man being there ,I remembered some Peanut children, a Peanut wife, and even a little peanut dog. This really started to bother me. I began to have dreams of sitting on a couch watching television and asking this huge smiling Peanut to pass the popcorn.
I pride myself on having a really good memory. I may not remember every detail, but I have a good overview of my life. And I was fairly sure that I've never been in the company of a family of monstrous mutant peanuts. Yet the memory was there.
I decided to ask my family, and hope they wouldn't laugh at me. I went over to my Parents while my Grandfather and an uncle were over. My sister arrived for a visit shortly after I got there. Great I thought. Now the whole family can laugh at me together.
"Hey I had a weird dream last night " I said." I dreamed I was watching the Moon Landing next to the Planters Peanut Man."
The Kitchen became very , very silent. Everyone stared at me.
" I wonder why I'd have a strange dream like that."
They kept staring at me for a couple of seconds. Finally my Dad laughed.
"That's because we watched it in the peanut heads apartment."
"Excuse me?" I asked
" Our TV was broke, so we went downstairs and watched the moon landing in the peanut heads apartment" My Mother added.
" Who were the peanut heads?"
"Oh they were the family living downstairs from us."
I felt like we were going in circles.
"Why did you call them the peanut heads?"
My father looked at my like I had asked the single most stupid question he had ever heard."Because"he said,slowly, as if speaking to a 4 year old" Their heads looked like peanuts."
My Mom nodded " Oh they did .They did. Those poor kids."
" Those poor ugly kids" My sister said with a cruel smile." They were the ugliest family I'd ever seen. "
"Didn't one of them become a Doctor?" my uncle asked .
"Dr. Peanut Head?" I said.
Everyone laughed.
"What was their real name?"
Everyone became very silent.
" I don't remember" my Mom said. Dad looked very puzzled. "Your father always just called them the peanut heads. After a while that's how we thought of them."
So because of Father's perverse sense of humor I will always remember watching the single biggest historic event of my life, with ...... This guy.