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With a Rubber Ducky, one is never alone!
By Louis Barbier
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When I was a little kid living in Lacona and later Cocoli, I can remember that I loved going to the swimming pool, but taking a bath was something else! All bathrooms in my day had bathtubs! I can't remember when the shower fixtures came in but it must have been much later. For check this out, I visited my Grandmother in Louisiana on leave from the Navy and I took a bath in a galvanized steel tub in the kitchen. It was winter so we fired up the potbelly stove and got us some hot water for the tub.
Now, in the Old Canal Zone, my mother had to literally chase me. But all the kids in the neighborhood hated to take baths. We all started to grow little gardens in our ears and we would all sport an inch of grime all over our bodies. It was great to fight off the mosquitoes but not welcomed at our house. Just before supper we had to line up for hands, fingernails and back of our ears inspections. A quit trick was to use a washcloth and take a modified bath. We covered the 3 areas that would be inspected, but the washcloth would usually turn an ugly shade of brown. All towels and washcloths back in my day were pearly white. This meant after washing and rinsing they would be placed over a firecracker bush so the hot tropical noonday sun could do its magic.
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With a Rubber Ducky, one is never alone!
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But let's get back to the bath! Well, most little kids had their favorite little toys for the bathtub ritual. These were submarines, battleships, toy soldiers and the best of all was the little rubber Ducky...for with a little rubber Ducky you were never alone! Back then we were all living during the war years and it was required to have midnight black streets after the sun went down. We were not allowed to show any light so much of our nightlife was behind black fall-out curtains. We read lots of comic books, played board games and took our evening bath. Since we procrastinated the taking of our baths, by the time my mother marched me into the bathroom it was 6:30 PM. It was dark already. The popular lamp or bulb size back then was 25 watts. This bulb puts out some light but not enough to make the night look like day and one thing it does is create lots of scary shadows. We did have candles, which help, but nobody and I mean nobody took a bath in the tub with the door close. We wanted to be able to see everybody in the living room or at least the bedroom. Just in case the boogeyman or the Martians showed up. See these creatures loved little kids. So with the door opened our mother could check on us to see we were okay. So, a rubber Ducky was a real great companion at bath time! You could talk to it and it would smile back. And you could do all kinds of things with it. You would wash it as you scrubbed your little body clean from all the dirt of playing outside during the day. And best of all when you were blamed on the ring around the tub, the standard answer was that the Ducky did it!
You loved playing in the tub until the water-cooled and your skin would shrivel up like a prune. Then as soon as the first notes of your favorite radio program the Lone Ranger sounded you made wet tracks to get your PJ's on as fast as you could muster. Although it was radio, you had to have your ear about an inch from the set. Besides your radio was a one-crystal job you had put together with the help of your Dad. Being close helped if the Fort Clayton Station were to drift. Low band signals tended to do that back then. Later after the program came some hot chocolate and then the night prayers and Rubber Ducky would be placed on the shelf beside my bunk bed.
I can remember years later escaping to Panama and staying at the Tivoli Guesthouse in Ancon for a week. I had a Teddy Roosevelt king-sized bathtub with golden bear claws (legs)! Wow, I used a small stepladder to climb in this large bathtub. The shower fixture was a jury-rigged flexible hose that got more water on the floor than on my body. So, often after a hard day at the office, I would take a relaxing warm bath. Yes, taking a bath can really take one back.... and you have to be careful that the heat of the water that both relaxes and soothes your tired body does not put you to sleep.... Yes, Mon! Well, I could ramble on some more but my favorite radio program is coming on...so, I'll say Goodnight Kid, Goodnight Kid!
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More about Rubber Ducky......
by Louis Barbier
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Do you know that there is a "Rubber Ducky" Theme song? Or that there is a shelter for abused "Rubber Duckies?" I bet you didn't know that! Well, lets get back to the bathtub.... I think the attraction of the "Rubber Duckies" to all little kids, were two fold...They floated and they squeaked! I remember going over to my friend’s houses in the old Canal Zone and almost bear none.... they all had little "Rubber Ducky" toys!
Back then when they really put a lot into making good products...they were really tough. Like that John Swaysee commercial, "...took a licking and kept on ticking!" Of course this was all before made in Japan. Now, have you noticed inferior doesn't mean made in Japan anymore but Made in China.... Yea, Mon! Well, as we grew up we got a bigger version of the "Rubber Ducky" to take to the beach and the swimming pool. Back then going to the beach or pool was like going on Safari with Teddy Roosevelt...you packed enough food and contingency items to las a company of Marines in the field for a week! Well, lets get back to the surprise.... the "Rubber Ducky Theme Song!" I don't know who wrote it so I guess we'll go with Canal Zone Brat Anonymous...yes indeed!
Now, for the adventure, close your eyes and travel back through time to when you were a little kid living the life of Riley in the old Canal Zone. Picture yourself a little kid taking a bath.... are you there yet? Now, if you are getting ready for...how they say in French or Spanish, your douche, then go for the bathtub! Don't let the EPA keep you from enjoying something that is free and does wonders for your mind and little body. Besides you probably won't take another bath in a tub for another 84 years! And don't forget the ring when you finish! That was something all mothers would point out.... it was part of the network in the old Canal Zone: Tell-A-Mom. "Okay are you comfy? Well take it away.... Hit it Shorty!"
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The Rubber Ducky Theme Song
by Sesame Street
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Rubber Ducky, you're the one,
You make bath time lots of fun,
Rubber Ducky, I'm awfully fond of you;
(woh woh bee doh)
Rubber Ducky, joy of joys,
When I squeeze you, you make noise!
Rubber Ducky, you're my very best friend, it's true!
(doo doo doo doooo, doo, doo)
CHORUS: Every day when I make my way to the tubby
I fund a little fella who's
Cute and yellow and chubby
(rub-a-dub-dubby!)
Rubber Ducky, you're so fine
And I'm lucky that you're mine
Rubber Ducky, I'm awe fully fond of you.
(repeat chorus)
Rubber Ducky, you're so fine
And I'm lucky that you're mine
Rubber Ducky, I'm awe fully fond of...
Rubber ducky , I'd like a whole pond of....
Rubber Ducky, I'm awe fully fond of you!
(doo, doo, be doo.)
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Well, wasn't that fun? Did you splash around a lot… Did you? Hey, we were all water babies at one time! Yes, indeed. And taking the Charges River water cure was one of things our folks did.... at all the gathering waterholes throughout the old Canal Zone.
Now, the picture starts to fade... Did you splash around a lot with your "Rubber Ducky?" Well, if you did, which who didn't, you got plenty of water on the floor. In reflection I don't think the linoleum was built to hold it all. So, as always there would be some drip...drip into the apartment below. Good thing they are on home leave but when they get back from 3 months away in the land of the Big BX.... they'll wonder where all the mildew came from... Oh, well life goes on.
You all have a great day and a better one tomorrow... Have a nice weekend!
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Rubber Ducky in Retirement
by Louis Barbier
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Greetings all you wonderful people and God bless all here. Even the Rubber Ducky takes retirement or hiatus from the hectic days of yesterday in the old Canal Zone. Little kids become big kids. Some never to touch those toys they loved so much in those happy days of yore.
Today, we have hot tubs and Jacuzzis that provide jets of water like magic fingers to relax and soothe the body. Oh, is it so good! Now, a bobbing Rubber Ducky may seem out of place for some. Especially for those who adhere to the letter of this quotation from the Bible in book of 1 Corinthians, ".... When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things....” Some of us have done just that. We have buried all those wonderful memories of growing up in the old Canal Zone in the recesses of our minds. For some of us they never again see the light of day. But do we really have to do that? Well, everybody must answer that question for themselves.
The Rubber Ducky period was a lot of fun. Taking tub baths with our Rubber Ducky and other water toys. Another great one was the water pistol. You could go around squirting everybody! But Mother Nature in the tropics had a great sense of humor by providing us little kids the trees that would produce bunches of squirters all year around. In Cocoli we had hundreds of these trees. It was always fun to get a bag full of these brown little squirters! Then off we went looking for an unsuspected little girl or boy to squirt!
Now, as little kids we don't take up much room...so, a communal bath was very common. That meant two or more kids in the same bath water. Wow, what fun! Well, little kids will be little kids, so often somebody would use their little bodies to produce bubbles. Oh, what a riot this would cause! But little Rubber Ducky would take all these stunts in stride. It would bob up and down with a big smile on its face; as if to say, "I'm watching you.... So, watch it Buster! You are pushing the envelope!"
Every once an awhile when we had been in the bath too long, our little bodies would wrinkle up. It was really amazing! Of course the blue lips and the shivering would give us away. We would all start looking like that wrinkle little dog people love to hug. But that was how life was in the old Canal Zone in the fast lane for us little kids. Other times the hot water would relax us too much that we would start to bob forward and our heads would splash into the water. Of course if we got too quiet, we would hear our Mother holler, "You have been in there too long. I don't hear any splashing. It is too quiet! Now finish up and get out of the tub. Don't forget to wash away the ring." And of course you would answer, "Mom, do I have to?" My Mother would reply, "Louie you better...your Dad will soon be home from work. So dry off and get dressed for supper." Back in those days unless my father was working overtime or was on swings the family made it a habit to get supper together. So, you would pull out the stopper and listen to the gurgling sound as the water rushed out of the tube. Meanwhile the Rubber Ducky would bob around in circles. As you started the serious business of drying off with the towel, you also dried off your Rubber Ducky. Yes, those where the days of fun in the sun and night baths with Rubber Ducky.
Now, if you haven't enjoyed your kids taking a bathtub bath...try it! It will be lots of fun. It will give you that one on one that little kids hunger for and really love. We often miss this little quality time with our kids. Why? Well, with speeding modems, electronic games, soccer and other activities after school we are all too busy. Too bad because even us big kids can take a trip back and take a bath in the tub with our Rubber Ducky. Yes, take your Rubber Ducky and dream.... You will be glad you did.
Well, that ends my trilogy of the Rubber Ducky adventures. Hope you have enjoyed our little trip back to when days were rather slow, quite easy and everybody took their baths in a tub with their Rubber Ducky.
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