time, blowing up a fuse, shutting the power in the house and the neighborhood. John then tells his son, Jimmy, to go put in a new fuse and power is restored. John's wife, Sarah, who is sitting on the front porch, is sewing a George Washington costume for John to wear to the town's Independence Day celebration, as her Ladies Club is in charge of the festivities. John tells the guests that the whole family will be performing in their presentation, with John and Sarah going as George and Martha Washington. Sarah is happy electric lights can be installed on the porch. Sarah tells John that Jimmy has volunteered to pick the music for the celebration. Jimmy then appears with his grandfather in the left room, dressed in a colonial outfit and standing next to a radio, which is playing patriotic music. John tells guests that they can now get news and entertainment on their radio from all over the country. The radio programming announces crowds have begun gathering downtown for the 4th of July. After hearing this, John rushes his daughter, Patricia, to get ready. Patricia is sitting in a room on the right, wearing a Statue of Liberty costume, worrying her new boyfriend will be scared away if he sees her in her costume. John then mentions the house now has indoor plumbing which is great for cold days, especially for Uncle Orville, who is shown sitting in a bathtub on the left side of the stage. John informs guests that he has set up an air cooling system next to the bathtub, with a fan sitting in front of a block of ice, blowing on him. Act 3: 1940s The third act is set on Halloween during the "Fabulous Forties". John is wearing a sweater while sitting at a circular booth-style kitchen table. New kitchen technologies include a refrigerator that holds more quantity of food and ice cubes and an automatic dishwasher. John mentions he is now part of the "rat race" and they now have television, when it works, and that John Cameron Swayze brings the news every night. The grandparents then appear on the right room, where the grandfather is sleeping and the grandmother changes the television channel to wrestling. A now teenage Jim calls from his room and asks for his father's opinion on the Jack-O-Lantern he carved, to which John says it's scary;