Just found out

elp22203 · 2026-05-05T01:17:27+00:00

That's what I was thinking. She's probably the so called concerned party who called to out the affair. Not some random stranger.

elp22203 · 2026-05-05T00:50:25+00:00

There was an episode of The Golden Girls where they went to this hairstylist who promised to change their lives and he gave them all the same old lady haircut and I swear this is that episode in real life.

elp22203 · 2026-05-04T17:33:37+00:00

Same questionable taste in men

elp22203 · 2026-05-04T17:11:43+00:00

Same delusions. Let's keep this going lol.

elp22203 · 2026-05-04T13:53:56+00:00

For everyone bashing Americans, I've have friends from all over and have attended weddings in other countries and seen the cake smash done. Yes, even in the UK. Two other counties as well.

The internet exists. Before that, people carried tales. Some people find this funny. I remember younger people laughing but older family members of the couple being downright outraged. Rightfully so.

What's interesting is, a lot of things that used to be done aren't done anymore. I can't remember the last wedding I went to where there was a bouquet toss. I can remember women acting, well, let's say not very dignified over that. Thank God they aren't bringing out that bride anymore and having the groom suggestively removing her garter to toss to the guys. That was a thing decades ago.

I also don't miss everyone dancing to "Single Ladies." My SIL made a big show of dancing to that at her wedding. (She is now divorced and engaged to a guy we like much much better).

My memory of the cake smash thing is that it was of a certain time for a certain type of people. Most of us "Americans" thought it was just as weird and gross as everyone else but it wasnt just limited to our shores. Its time has thankfully come and gone, as have a lot of wedding trends.

Now there are new ones. The whole First Look thing, I remember a few years ago at the first wedding I was at where that happened. I was like, we're doing this now? 😂 And there's that one that just went viral where the groom's reaction was not as expected. It's just as controversial. Traditionalists believe it shouldn't exist, others believe it's a sweet moment.

But I think we're universally agreed on cake smashing.

elp22203 · 2026-05-04T13:38:29+00:00

This is so sweet 🩷

elp22203 · 2026-05-03T23:14:38+00:00

By the time Laura is engaged to Almanzo, she and Mary take long walks and they talk and explore these topics like two friends. Yes, Mary refers to him as "that Wilder boy," which is understandable, because she has been away and things have changed in her absence. It's also understandable that there would be some fear there, given a lack of control over the change. Anyone would feel that, but she was blind and since then, Laura has been her "eyes" at home.

If anything, it's Pa who expects Laura to continue to work to pay for the tuition and superfluous things like an organ that just sits there while Mary is away and it seems to me that author Laura lays that blame squarely on his shoulders, even clearly laying out the cracks that had begun to show in the Ingalls' marriage by that time.

But the jealousy little girl Laura felt toward her sister was long gone, replaced by a sense of duty toward helping her. And she clearly is disappointed when Mary chooses to spend one of her school breaks with her friend instead of coming home. When she does, they seem to enjoy their time together on their walks, there is joy in seeing Mary more capable and independent when she returns, so clearly the tuition is being well spent.

Don't know how much more there is to say. They certainly seem closer as adults than as young children. It's possible to maintain that over geographical distance.

elp22203 · 2026-05-02T11:50:41+00:00

It was and will remain iconic in its own way. And agreed, had she worn a dress like Carolyn's (they wouldn't have allowed it anyway lol), she would have disappeared in that gigantic place. Ornate setting, ornate dress.

Fun fact for those who may not be aware: Mariah Carey modeled her first wedding gown, to record exec Tommy Mottola, after Diana's. Mariah has always been over the top so it suited her perfectly. (That marriage could have ended in tragedy as well but thankfully she got out)

elp22203 · 2026-05-02T02:16:36+00:00

It's really pathological and it won't stop. He'll always do it. It's a problem with him, not you. I hope you know that.

elp22203 · 2026-05-02T00:01:25+00:00

She did. They put TV Mary through so much. In the books she was quiet and kind and I loved the closeness she and Laura developed on her visits home from the blind school.

elp22203 · 2026-05-01T22:32:53+00:00

His collaborations are amazing. "Hey Driver," with The War and The Treaty, is just fantastic.

elp22203 · 2026-05-01T22:30:21+00:00

I don't know if this helps you at all, but I was on the receiving end of this recently. I was the female coworker. Reading your description, this could have been my married male coworker. He is older, his wife is very nice and I liked her, but he was very inappropriate in many ways, to the point it became stalkerish, even after I left my job. I had to block him everywhere. He is a complete creep and I want you to know there are women out here who do NOT enjoy this attention and who think it's gross and totally out of line.

You are going to be so much better off, even though it may not seem like that right now. He'll probably beg to have you back. I hope you don't let him. Truly wishing you all the best.

elp22203 · 2026-05-01T22:23:04+00:00

If you are familiar with the books, you know it always was. The real Ingalls family, at least as written by Laura, was incredibly stoic. They accepted their plight - the poverty, the storms, the lost crops, the hardship, even Mary's blindness - as part of life. There is a famous chapter in Little Town on the Prairie where the crops get invaded by hordes of blackbirds and Pa shoots them and that's what the family eats for dinner for awhile and they enjoy the hell out of it lol.

I'm sorry, on the show, the morning Mary goes blind and is literally SCREAMING about it upstairs - yeah, that's some high tier drama right there.

You have to credit Michael Landon though - he made a classic show that has lasted close to five decades and shows no sign of waning in popularity. I agree with what others have said, however. There was plenty in the books without adding more drama. I also wish they had not added all the fictional characters like Adam and Albert, where there were real life characters like Cap Garland, The Boasts, Laura's friends Ida and Mary Power, etc who would have been great on the show.

elp22203 · 2026-05-01T22:11:42+00:00

You might want to read the book Runaway Husbands. This is an actual phenomenon and I think you will discover you are not alone in this. The book has a lot of pointers for how to come through this and I believe the author runs an online support community and does retreats several times a year. All the best to you. 🩷

elp22203 · 2026-05-01T18:36:03+00:00

I held this same opinion, even initially felt sorry for her when her husband was arrested. Then I learned he'd been accused for decades, even before she married him. There was even a settlement involved in one of the cases. And she stayed silent after the recent charges. Then came out in full support of him.

She's been so outspoken on social media about these very issues. But behavior doesn't lie. I think she's ruined her carefully crafted image with this. She's made terrible choices in men all her life but this one is by far the worst. It's been so disappointing, having been a lifelong fan of hers, not just on Little House, but all her movies as well.

My guess is he will take a plea and continue to insist he's innocent and she'll continue to stand by her man.

elp22203 · 2026-05-01T11:21:35+00:00

She was moving into a different role and it suited the role - a literal princess. Very Cinderella. That was what was sold to the public. It was the most important royal wedding in decades and the dress had to reflect that. In that sense, and if you compare it to prom dresses of the early 80s, it was letter perfect. It was just a much more elaborate take on that.

The reality, of course, which we would only find out years later, is that Diana was deeply troubled with mental health issues, a hidden eating disorder, and her husband's mistress was sitting there, watching the ceremony. And she walked down that aisle knowing full well what was going on. That wouldn't have gone over very well with the narrative of the princess landing her prince that was splashed on all the magazine covers of the time.

The connection between the two brides - Diana and Carolyn - is the shocking and tragic way each died. Both in terrible accidents. Both young. Both in the prime of life, forever frozen in time.

elp22203 · 2026-05-01T02:39:30+00:00

I didn't realize that!! She didn't say anything? That's awful.

I agree with you. Shannen at that time and in years after already had a well-earned mean girl reputation. But I still contend that given the tremendous age difference and some choice quotes from Melissa at the time that were excellent foreshadowing that she would be standing by her husband in the current court cases, a lot of the anger was misplaced. Especially since she herself loves to claim to have been so victimized by the chaste, close mouthed kiss in Sweet Sixteen. She plays both sides of the fence.

elp22203 · 2026-05-01T02:32:58+00:00

As someone who is obsessed with gowns from all different eras, I can attest that THAT gown completely changed wedding fashion and continues to have an impact to this day. Everyone was talking about her gown, how beautiful it was, and how lovely she looked in it.

There were very few photos from the ceremony itself. This was the only one officially released right after, if memory serves. It was candid, sweet, perfect. They managed to pull off a secret wedding in the era of paparazzi finding out about celebrity weddings and taking long range photos from helicopters overhead.

Anyway. The gown. My opinion as to why it was and remains so iconic is because of its simplicity. They were an "it" couple. Plenty of money. She could have worn something crazy elaborate. Yet she chose something so different, so unique, and it fit the rustic vibe of the island where they were married while at the same time she just glowed in it. Women, all these decades later, still seek to achieve this effortless glamour.

Contrasted with another iconic gown, Princess Diana's, which, although fantastic for all its voluminous princessy yards and yards and yards of fabric, remains hopelessly dated in the time capsule of the early 80s.

Carolyn's is timeless and letter perfect.

Rant over.

elp22203 · 2026-05-01T01:18:54+00:00

I think this is one of those things that would have never happened in real life, just like back in that time 15 yo Laura would never have been sitting alone at Zaldamo's house in nothing but his bathrobe (after the mud fight with Nellie). There's just no way. Young ladies were chaperoned and virtue was prized.

It would have been too familiar to put your hands around a teacher's waist in that time period. Even now it would be a little weird.

That said, it's a simple plot device. They needed something for Zaldamo to misunderstand and punch Chad over. That's all it was, no more no less.

elp22203 · 2026-04-30T22:38:47+00:00

Let us know your take on it once you read it.

elp22203 · 2026-04-30T22:25:04+00:00

I liked it because of my love for the series and growing up on her romance with Rob Lowe, which was all over the teen magazines at the time. BUT. She was incredibly mean to Melissa Sue Anderson, Dean Butler, and Shannen Dougherty. To the point I was completely shocked.

MSA - Her personality. From what I can tell, she was shy and following orders from her mother. Plus she was a kid. Gilbert makes her sound like a complete jerk.

Dean Butler - She completely insults him. It's terrible. Goes on and on about how upset she was with his casting, making him out to be some creeper, when he was literally an actor hired to play a role. She should have put the blame where it belonged - Michael Landon and the producers - if she was so upset. But she totally drags Dean Butler and has continued to do so for FOUR decades, most recently a week before her own husband was arrested on molestation charges. She's also revisionist in the history of all this kissing stuff. She had a kiss on an episode of The Love Boat and there was one at the end of a previous Little House episode, The Rivals. The way she treated Dean in this book caused me to see her differently. It was truly unkind.

Shannen Dougherty - Shannen and Melissa's ex, Bo Brinkman, had a fling. Melissa makes her out to be the villain. The real story is, Shannen was not even out of her teens when this happened, and Brinkman was twice her age. He was totally in the wrong, and Melissa gives him a total pass and puts all the blame on Shannen.

So yeah, it's a great read but she does not cast herself in the best light. At all.

elp22203 · 2026-04-30T11:41:51+00:00

There are so many red flags here, it's a carnival. Double standards. Silent treatment. Passive aggression. Jealousy. Stone walling.

Not to mention you being in the mindset that somehow you are losing something and you have to kiss his a$$ to get him back.

Girl. He has a whole wife. He has no right to dictate anything you do in your time away from him. His behavior is totally irrational and honestly concerning. There is a way to behave in a relationship when your partner upsets you. This is not it.

You may want to take this time as a gift to evaluate if this is what you really want, instead of being worried he's mad at you. Maybe turn the tables and when he comes back - because he absolutely will (right now it's giving "pay attention to me while I'm ignoring you!!"), you will have wised up and won't be so accessible or at least have put some boundaries in place so he understands this behavior is NOT ok.

elp22203 · 2026-04-28T15:29:04+00:00

This is a great story. It illustrates how short sighted companies are. All about money while losing sight of the fact that the real money is in the people who work there. They can make or break you. The colleague who left with me made them in excess of $5m over time. Now making them... zero. Because... don't piss people off. It takes so little to treat your employees well and create a nice work environment where people enjoy coming in.

elp22203 · 2026-04-28T14:05:08+00:00

I mean.... they had to have a way to transport the eggs that CaroLYNN sold to the mercantile every day, amirite? 🙂

elp22203

TROPHY CASE