Show of Hands

With Alan called out of town to a sponsors' meeting, Mel asks Rob and Laura at the last minute to attend a formal awards banquet to accept an award on the show's behalf. The preparation for the evening starts out hectic enough with Laura also trying to finish a costume for Ritchie needed the next day, and Rob's tuxedo needing to be pressed but with the cleaners already closed. Things get even worse when Laura takes over the costume making job from Millie and puts her hands in a pot of black fabric dye, not realizing it's a permanent dye which won't wash off. While Laura is over at the Helpers hoping Jerry has something that can remove the dye from her hands (which he doesn't), Rob comes home. Thinking that he needs to help Ritchie, he too sticks his hands in the pot of dye. With the state of their hands, Rob is even more adamant than fashion-conscious Laura about not going to the awards banquet as the award is being given by the CIU: the Committee for Interracial Understanding. With Buddy and Sally unable to attend, Rob and Laura have to attend but resort to wearing gloves, which may be suitable for Laura, but not quite so for Rob. Once at the banquet, the awards motto "truth and understanding" may make Rob and Laura change their minds about the need for the gloves. —Huggo