Every episode of The Waltons, last seen running on a short loop on the True Entertainment channel, starts and ends the same way, with
the family conscientiously unpacking Chinese goods and stocking shelves in their hometown Bentonville Arkansas store, then after an honest day's commerce, counting down the register to see if enough profit has been made so that they can give some lucky orphan a trip to Disneyworld a grown up John-Boy plugging the Great Depression, then after a hard day learning lessons in its moral crucible, those members of the family who had benefited the most from the wisdom of the mountain saying goodnight to each other. Thin walls.
Here we see Olivia in a very rare state: uninhibited joy
Having just bought a bike from Ike (who's hard not to like), she practically floats home
into the arms of her tickled family. Only her husband John seems worried, about the impression a freewheeling woman will make on the good townsfolk. Bikespotters: the bike doesn't figure prominently in the story except as a symbol of her apparent restlessness. In the end, Olivia decides that her role as wife and mother is fulfilling enough that cycling is surplus to requirements, and she gives the "contraption" away. We'll have to wait for one of the reunion specials to catch her reading
The Feminine Mystique.
