erma bombeck if life is a bowl of cherries

Faint in Shock: Erma claims to have passed out just before her daughter got her ears pierced.Does This Remind You of Anything?: Played for laughs in 'Register Camera Nuts.' Erma expresses concern about becoming a statistic, asks her husband if the camera he's messing with is 'loaded', and complains that with the law the way it stands, any child can buy one and deal a nasty shock to an innocent bystander.By the end of the chapter she nearly has a nervous breakdown, but breathes a sigh of relief when her teenager rams the car into the side of the house. Coincidence Magnet: Used to having incredibly bad luck, Erma is unnerved when everything goes right for a whole week: all her children are well behaved, the car has no mechanical problems, no financial disasters strike, she gets a shopping cart with all four wheels that go in the same direction, etc.Caretaker Reversal: Erma contemplates the reality that parent and child switch roles as they get older in the more serious last portion of the book, from things like the child advising the parent about clothing and social niceties to seeing that she gets to doctor's appointments and throwing her arm in front of her mother after hitting the brakes hard.Then she mentions another woman who decided she would do more with her life than scrubbing faucets because she felt she needed further fulfillment. …And That Little Girl Was Me: In the more serious last section of the book, Erma lists a number of famous people (like Margaret Mitchell, Shirley Temple Black, and Grandma Moses) who didn't get started on their new careers until later in life.This book includes examples of the following tropes: Readers will find everything from hilarious hijinks from the travails of everyday life to more grounded reflection on serious matters. The book has undergone a number of reprints since its initial publishing.Įrma tackles domestic life, from awkwardness at the wedding to the experience of motherhood to family law and order (or lack thereof) to matters outside the house door like game shows and failed fashions. If Life is a Bowl of Cherries - What Am I Doing in the Pits? is a 1971 book by American humorist Erma Bombeck.

Erma bombeck if life is a bowl of cherries