Eight is Enough

Who remembers the television dramedy from the late 70's and early 80's 'Eight is Enough'? The story of a man by the name of Tom Bradford and his wife Joan along with their eight kids from David to Nicholas. Here is the whole chain of children's names David, Mary, Joannie, Susan, Nancy, Elizabeth, Tommy and Nicholas. The show is based on Tom Braden's book of the same name.

The television series was set as mentioned in the late 70's and ended in the early 80's well 1981 to be precise. The book written by Tom Braden is set in the sixties and the early seventies. Tom Bradford was a newspaper columnist for the Sacramento Register while Tom Braden was a columnist for a Washington DC newspaper. Joan, his wife in the television program was a photographer, and in his book, she was an activist political and social and they each knew famous politicians like Henry Kissinger as friends.

Now, the children from David all the way down to Nicholas there are many similarities to the real kids to the television kids from outspoken in many issues of the day along with each kid having their own growing up issues on what to do whether going to college or whatever. Tom Braden wanted his kids to go to college, but he kind of let them decide for themselves but Tom Braden urged them along. Tom Bradford also wanted the kids to go to college and for each to find an interest in something.

Throughout the book there are many lines that I made a connection to an episode of the television show. Both the real family and the television show seemed to have money concerns. I remember there was episode where Tom Bradford was having a discussion with Nicholas about money and how expensive milk was at the time and as the dad suggested that water is just is good as milk, but Nicholas shares with dad "But have you even tried to drink water with a peanut butter sandwich." Tom Braden in the book has the same conversation but with Tommy.

In reading this book and if you have watched the television series by the same name there are many similarities to each as in the chapter 'Mother's Rules' and 'Our Rules'. Even though the book was more set in the decade of the late sixties and the television series was set in the late seventies/early eighties there are several issues that affected each family that seemed familiar all the same for discussions happened and the way to the solution was searched in one way or another. Believe it or not I still watch the reruns of the show even today in the 21st century. There are some ideas that really are the same now as was then.