What happens
Lum and Abner, the proprietors of the Jot 'Em Down store in Pine Ridge, sit down to prepare their income tax return. Lum has just cleared up the muddled account books Abner kept while Lum was away, and now the two work through the government form together. Abner is confused by terms like overhead expense, deductions and casualty losses, and the two debate what the store can claim, from a truck's mileage to a boat mishap and the people they support. Their attempts to fill in the figures lead to a series of mistakes and odd interpretations. The episode is a comedy built on the partners' misunderstandings of the form. Lum and Abner are played by Chester Lauck and Norris Goff, with Lurene Tuttle also appearing, and the episode was originally broadcast on February 2, 1942.
The Jot 'Em Down store in Pine Ridge
Characters: Lum Edwards, Abner Peabody
Listen for: Abner's confusion over the income tax form and the partners' misreading of its questions
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.