Blergh

Well, if ANY of Mr. Hackman's or Miss Arakawa's associates, colleagues, employees, or family members had used even a quarter of the energy that others have used to attempt to explain and/or excuse away their inaction towards the couple (and even their dog), any ONE of them could have driven by to check in on them (if local) or picked up the phone to try to ring them up to see how they were doing. However NONE of them appear to have attempted to have done so in all those days from Miss Arakawa's last communications until their remains were found- and, as a result, it appears that Mr. Hackman in his severe Alzheimer's state (with greatly diminished capacity) was left to fend for him evidently unable to comprehend his longtime spouse's demise [possibly thinking she was asleep] much less seek out help or even feed himself or their dogs while completely devoid of human company in the last week of his life. And, I'm not overlooking how it appears that this 60-something Ms. Arakawa appeared to have been the sole caregiver for Mr. Hackman and their canine companions yet it appears that no one in the know offered to have assisted much less to have relieved her in the months before her own demise- and caregivers of the elderly (especially with dementia) are truly among the most overwhelmed and underappreciated folks out there. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! to all of the above!

Ms. Arakawa's death from that illness is sad but what's infuriating is that her widower Mr. Hackman had developed 'severe Alzheimer's Disease' [not uncommon for 95-year-olds]. .yet NO ONE seemed to consider to so much as phone to see how they were doing- much less check in on them. As a result, he wandered about the house unable to care for himself or understand what was going on. .and devoid of human company for X number of days before his own sad demise. .and they wouldn't be found for another week! Why was this allowed to happen? Did none of the above consider checking in on this couple much less offer Ms Arakawa some help [if not relief] in having to care for her Alzheimer's afflicted spouse?i Yes, I'm ANGRY that this has happened and I can't help but think at the very least Mr. Hackman's end didn't need to have happened this way! FOR SHAME!

I agree- and what was Laura thinking to insist her own sister perjure herself despite knowing the Nancy was deliberately framing her?! Did Laura think Nancy would somehow get guilted instead of somehow feeling vindicated that the 'dumb' teacher got snowed? Truly that was the one of the dumbest things Laura did in the whole series yet somehow Laura managed to top herself before the episode was out by insisting Harriet 'trust her' via having Nancy put in a dunk tank. . which changed NOTHING about the warped dynamics of Harriet pinning everything on playing that Nancy was 'her new Nellie' and Nancy reaping the bounty.

Good points! Let's also never forget that when Harriet first talked to Nancy, she fessed that she deep down she KNEW that the reason why Nellie had been friendless before her marriage was because Harriet herself had raised her to be spoiled and mean- and she WANTED to do the same for Nancy. Hence, IMO, it's not so much that Harriet was fooled by either Nellie or Nancy as much as she was willfully ignorant of their deceptions so she could keep playing her game of pretending her daughter/s was perfect and not have to admit otherwise! Yeah, I agree that the whole deal of Laura trading Bunny was preposterous and lame. IMO, it would have worked better had Mrs. Oleson threatened to call in Charles's debts and only due to not wanting to be thrown off their land did Charles agree to part with the only valuable commodity they could sacrifice that the loss of wouldn't have catapulted them into destitution- Bunny. Yes, it would have been a somewhat harsh plot but far closer to pioneer realty than what we got!

The late Mr. Dean had become a successful contractor and somewhat wealthy in his own right (though I don't think anywhere as much as his more famous spouse). Well, one of Miss Parton's more recent musings about their union displayed both her love for him- and her sense of humor about herself (I may be paraphrasing the following but this was the gist!) "I know every one of the white hairs on his head and he knows every stitch of my wigs' netting! " She also gave him credit for being a fan of rock music and said it was HIS tastes that got her to do the rock album with duets a few years back. Anyway, I'm glad they had each other as long as they did!

We know that Nellie faked paralysis but she fooled Doc Baker, Laura,etc. for the longest time. Does anyone think it's possible that somehow Harriet knew her pride and joy was faking paralysis to hurt, guilt-trip. .and, essentially, enslave Laura and the Ingallses to get back at Laura? I mean, Harriet was the one who seemed to tend to Nellie's hygiene and there are certain things that can't happen if someone's actually paralyzed. Moreover, I can't imagine Harriet NOT egging Nellie along instead of calling her out for having done that- and she'd have kept it a BIG secret in order to queen it over all the Ingallses. Maybe she fainted after seeing Nellie jump due to being upset that Nellie's secret was out (and quickly did the 'it's a MIRACLE!') to cover for both of them! Note that Nels saw through it once Nellie jumped and wasn't having it but I think he (and Willie) DID sincerely believe Nellie had been paralyzed until they saw otherwise! Any thoughts on this?

Funny, that the performer playing Mr. Carmody's wish for the characters would be for them all to have a long holiday in Spain (of all places)! Yes, no doubt it's great for a holiday nowadays but in the early 1940's, with it being under Franco's rule with large parts of the cities (including Madrid) in ruins thanks to all the fighting from the recent Spanish Civil War, widespread poverty, short supplies, it would have been somewhat challenging for British subjects to have vacationed there. Granted, Spain stayed technically neutral for the whole War (after Franco literally sweated out Hitler in an unairconditioned train car on a hot summer day when the latter tried to drag Spain into the Axis). However, since Franco somewhat favored Hitler, it was the place to travel through on the way to Portugal to escape to the US rather than a place to hang out back then! Methinks the performer could do well to brush up on his history!

As per the Associated Press, It just hit the news that Carl Thomas Dean, the husband of Dolly Parton since 1966 died today, Monday, March 3,2025 at age 82. The family already has had a private memorial for him. They sure beat LOTS of odds and evidently had a good life together. I hope Miss Parton will be able to draw strength from the good times the two of them had together. RIP, Mr. Dean.

OK, because I think we could ALL use some good news, I found out this news as per MSNBC that I think most if not all people would consider good cheer: The US Postal Service has agreed to honor the television producer,host and performer of many decades Betty White (1922-2021) via issuing a stamp to commemorate her!

Julia, Sarah (Lauren Graham's character) and even Crosby all had their faults as parents. However, they each DID change for the better and improve over the course of the series (granted, Sarah barely did). Yet, the two who were touted as being the IDEAL parents (Adam and Kristina) were not only IMO the WORST but they regressed via raising their austistic son Max to be an entitled monster at the expense of every other person in their family including their poor neglected daughter Haddie.

I know the following is a First World Problem (and I know I can't solve it). .. However, yesterday, I had to venture to a colleague's relative's remembrance service and it took place on a major road starting out in our residential urban county and then continuing to venue's suburban county. Anyway, I had trouble finding the venue because the road's street numbers 'flipped' from odd-numbered on right-hand of street/ even-numbered on left hand of street to vice versa the instant the road crossed the county line (and this was NOT mentioned in the online map I had pulled up). Thankfully, I had given myself extra time in case I got lost (which I did) but I had circle back several times to find the venue before I 'got' that the numbers had been flipped. Would someone tell me WHY they couldn't just keep the street numbering the same regardless of the street crossing the county line? I mean, it's the SAME street and that street's name didn't get changed crossing that line! Just venting. .

Interesting,too, that while all the other performers interviewed mentioned individual animal characters they identified with, Mr. Ralph discussed which SPECIES he ID'd with!

Thank you! Since the two spouses died at least under the same roof, I was talking about them as a duo - not in any way belittling or diminishing Ms. Arakawa's achievements. Perhaps I am more conventional than many .Hence, unless I know that there is evidence to the contrary re their personal preferences (e.g. Ms. Steinem instead of Mrs. Bale), I refer to female spouses of hetero couples as 'Mrs. X' instead of 'Ms. Y'. P.S. With the above said, however, I wouldn't be entirely surprised if it turned out that at SOME point in their union Ms. Arakawa may have attempted to up her clout by referring herself re her spouse's surname (e.g. 'Hello Dan Tana's? Could you please reserve your best table for a party of six tomorrow night at 8? This is Mrs. Gene Hackman!') P.P.S. Regardless of what surname/s used, it's a horrible tragedy that no one bothered to check up on this couple for no less than a week's time after their demises!

I am well aware of that and she was the spouse of Gene Hackman. If you have evidence that she insisted on being called Ms. Arakawa after her marriage instead of Mrs. Hackman, then I shall not refer to her as the latter.

If #45 remains unrepentant to the end (which appears to be highly likely), I wouldn't be surprised if his Maker would ALSO say He never knew #45 and send him on a one-way trip to the opposite realm.

I'm sorry but, in this age of Smartphones,CCTV cameras, RING cameras, and instant world wide communication, that rationale has evaporated as a valid justification for others' deaths 'slip[ping] through the cracks' than in eras before telegraphs and mail delivery had existed. IMO, it seems that virtually every single person who had had regular dealings with the Hackmans- be it alleged caregivers, handypeople, neighbors, loved ones. .and, especially, relatives on both sides FAILED to check up on them for over a week's time prior to the discover of their remains and I hope ALL of them feel ashamed for having done so (and this supposes that somehow the Hackmans and one of their dogs each died of natural causes and not from something outsiders may have done ). I find it telling that before any toxicology reports had been conducted one of Mr. Hackman's daughters claimed that her 95-year-old father's, stepmother's and one of their dog's deaths had been the result of carbon-monoxide poisoning - drawing that conclusion despite having not even visited the home in at least two weeks' time. Of course, it's not the first time an elderly person hadn't been missed despite no one having seen or interacted with them for more than a day. Examples are many but one that stands out is a case in Belgium in which this older woman lived in a suburban neighborhood and was known to have had one son whom she was estranged from as well as neighbors who largely avoided her due to her being somewhat argumentative. Well, she wasn't seen around but none of the above bothered to knock on her door until one day their city broke it down to install some mandatory new appliances for all the residences. Anyway, the city workers discovered her skeletal remains that had been laying on the floor since her death in 1974- nineteen years earlier. I'm not sure whether or not Mr. and/or Mrs. Hackman was difficult or nice as pie to their known current acquaintances, associates,etc. However, regardless of what the cause/s of death is determined, it's downright SHAMEFUL that they didn't check up on them for over a week!

FWIW, there's SO much wrong about #45 and Creepy Vance kicking Zelinskyy (and Ukraine) when they are down, I don't even know where to start. I wish I could say I was surprised that he'd have done that. However, FWIW, my 90-something Mama who's followed news and world events from the late 1930's onward tells me that she had NEVER seen one head of state treat another head of state so hostilely after inviting him/her to their quarters in all these decades as she saw #45 treat the President of the Ukraine- even when one nation was at WAR with the other!

I know that this had little impact on the storyline but I want to give a shout out to them for having Edward's shipmate being sent home to his home in . .. Skipton. Yes, I've been there! It's a cool Yorkshire market town but the highlight of the place is the wonderful Medieval castle that had among other things -two kitchens (one medieval, one 19th century) and a wardrobe chamber- complete with a built in toilet seat. . .suspended dozens of feet above the fields below.

While his catapulting himself from poverty in his early teens via his songwriting and musical talent despite his blindness is commendable and his courage is awe inspiring,I have to agree that he got into a musical rut in adulthood. Even his iconic "You Are the Sunshine of My Life " was somewhat soured by his own whiny singing after the promising opening with the male and female singers had pleasantly sung the first two verses of his composition. I wish someone had told him to let them sing the whole song and just enjoyed the songwriting royalties from.it.

Correct me if I'm wrong. However, as of this writing, it appears that for at least the previous two weeks' time before their deaths were discovered, not just the paid maintenance worker but NONE of the Hackmans' colleagues, friends . . . or family members appeared to have so much as phoned much less dropped by their place to see if the 95-year-old man and his [albeit decades younger] wife were doing OK. What's wrong with this picture?

Actually, I was going to bring up Cher myself inasmuch that Cher had previously announced that she had planned to release her own autobio in two parts (after the release of the first partwith the first part dealing with her life up to right before she started her movie performing career in earnest) while Miss Grassle has made no announcement re her own autobio. Sadly, on a more pragmatic level, while it's possible that Miss Grassle may have had some enthralling experiences since the end of LHOTP that could possibly warrant a separate tome, since she's largely been out of the spotlight (unlike Cher), there are few outside whatever circle/s she's been in who would be potential customers for a possible 2nd part. Hence, due to there being little if any marketplace for her recollections of her post-1983 life, it would have better had she at the very least summarized those four decades in the tail end of the autobio she released rather than completely have avoided them [apart from the three LHOTP-linked events I mentioned in my original post]. At least Miss Anderson didn't appear to have been taken offense at anything in Miss Grassle's tome and seems to respect her POV as well as being newly empathetic to it after Miss Grassle told her side so all that was good!

Since Miss Flack seemed to perfectly capture all the intense angst of the lyrics, I somehow had thought she herself had written it. My mistake. Oh well. Maybe more folks will be inclined to seek out her infinitely more moving version of it. RIP, Miss Flack.

We know that RL Jimmy became a vet to follow his dad's footsteps instead of becoming a farmer but the fictional character might shock both sides by growing up to be a scuba diver, jet pilot,etc.!

It beats the episode of ToST which had some aliens literally steal Spock's brain out of his skull to have it transplanted to replace their planet-wide computer and yet somehow Dr. McCoy was able to rig some kind of remote control devise to get the now . .brain-free Spock to walk with the other Enterprise crew to get it BACK and the whole time Spock had nothing more than a large bandage on his noggin (and I think above his hairline). Oh, and it needs to said that the aliens were rather airheaded but somehow had their 'dying computer' give them step by step instructions on how to remove a Vulcan brain.. then later to transplant it BACK without the slightest after effects (and Spock got to speak to the crew via the computer with his OWN voice). Yep, a rather brainless episode from beginning to end. .LOL

Maybe Miss Flack's share of royalties from it went to help make her later years more comfortable and/or helped support a worthy cause she believed in. We can hope. FWIW, Miss Hill's vocals and arrangements were awful but her video of it killed the whole point of the song with Miss Hill spending the whole time looking. ..peeved instead of in any way appearing poignant, in love or troubled as Miss Flack had conveyed in her original rendition. Hopefully more folks will look up Miss Flack's fantastic classic rendition and get inspired.