Thursday, May 15, 2008

Chicken Delight: Part One

Before there was KFC, even before they called it Kentucky Fried Chicken, way back when I was a little girl, there was Chicken Delight.

I don't know if everyone had Chicken Delight, or if it was just in the S.F. Bay Area, where I grew up. I still remember the black and white television commercial with a chicken shouting into an old style telephone: "Don't cook tonight--call Chicken Delight!" (No, I don't know why the chicken was the one making the call, it didn't make sense to me either.)

Even at that young age, I remember thinking what a wonder it would be to have your entire dinner cooked and brought to your house! (Back then, I think dinner for six was something like $1.15.) Although we never really ordered Chicken Delight, we had much more personal experience with it than most, because our telephone number was just one digit off from theirs.

Me: Hello
Hungry Person: Hi, is this Chicken Delight?
Me: No, you have the wrong number
Hungry Person: Hi, I'd like to get the large family order, please.
Me: You have the wrong number
Hungry Person: How much would that be?
Me: You have the wrong number.
Hungry Person: Oh! Is this the wrong number?

Repeat about 5 times a day and you have an idea of what it was like to live just one digit away from a local phenom.

I bring up this story because I hate cooking dinner, and each night when it's (well past,) time to mosey on out to the kitchen and start dinner preparations, all I hear in my head is:
"Don't cook tonight! Call Chicken Delight!"

More after I go and ....oh, well, you know..........

2 comments:

Llama Momma said...

Oh, I did need that laugh tonight!!

Anonymous said...

You have me belly-laughing as quietly as I can, since my little darling is snoozing on the couch post-dinner! I remember Chicken Delight! If I lose everything I ever learned in school, if I cannot even recognize my own face in the mirror, Chicken Delight's slogan is one of the commercials I will still be able to repeat until take my last breath! Thank you!