Catching Up...Stage and Screen

The Grandstander has fallen behind in his stage and movie comings and goings, so let's try to catch up, shall we?

This past Saturday I attended the Broadway in Pittsburgh Series touring production of "Hamilton."  You all know how much I love this show.  It is the third time that I have seen it on stage, and this particular production was top notch.  The actors, led by Pierre Jean Cortez as Alexander Hamilton, Warren Egypt Franklin as Lafayette/Jefferson, and Stephanie Jae Park as Eliza Schuyler were terrific.  Every time that I have seen the show, I see something different, and in this particular production, I was especially impressed with the choreography and the music of the climactic "Yorktown" number in Act I.  Just fantastic.

Four Stars from The Grandstander.

Of course, going to this production was bittersweet because, of course, Marilyn is no longer with us.  I was thrilled, however, to have as my "date" for the show on Saturday our 21 year old great-niece, Anna Sproule, currently a junior at the University of Notre Dame.  Anna had not yet seen the show performed on stage, but she has long been a fan of the amazing music of the show.  It was truly a pleasure to take her with me that night, and I know that Aunt Marilyn is thrilled that her ticket that night was being used by Anna.

Through a series of circumstances that I won't get into here, I am actually going to be seeing "Hamilton" two more times in the next ten days.  That's almost embarrassing to admit, but I will also make no apologies for it!

Earleir in the month, the Broadway Series treated us to a production of "Pretty Woman", a musical adaptation of the hit 1990 movie that starred Julia Roberts and Richard Gere.  While I liked the movie when I saw it all those years ago - Marilyn positively LOVED it - I was not a diehard fan, so I went into this show with modest expectations, which was probably a good thing, because I ended up liking the show quite a bit.  Was completely unfamiliar with all of the music, but that didn't spoil the show at all.  Interesting casting note:  the part of Vivian, the Julia Roberts role, was played by Olivia Valli. She is the granddaughter of Frankie Valli, the original Jersey Boy himself.

I gave "Pretty Woman" Two and One-half Grandstander Stars.

Five shows down in this season's Broadway in Pittsburgh Series, and here is how they stack up for me:

1. Hamilton
2. Summer, The Donna Summer Musical
3. Pretty Woman
4. Oklahoma
5. The Band's Visit

Still to come..."Beautiful" in March, "To Kill A Mockingbird" in April, and "Ain't Too Proud" in May

********

Regular readers are no doubt asking "Hey, the Oscar nominations came out a couple of weeks ago. Where is The Grandstander's usual cutting edge analysis of the nominations?"

You all HAVE been asking that, right? Right?

Well, the analysis has been missing for the simple matter that I have not seen many of the nominated films.   Of the ten Best Picture nominees, I have seen only two: Licorice Pizza (good, but certainly NOT the best picture of this or any other year) and West Side Story, which I loved, and would be happy to see win.

Of the other eight nominees...

Dune.  I'll pass on this one.  I am not a sci-fi fan, so it has no appeal to me. However, I will not criticize it, nor will I begrudge the glowing opinions of many of my pals who have seen it.

Drive My Car.  It's in Japanese with English subtitles.  In and of itself, that's not a deal breaker (see "Parasite" of a couple of years ago).  It is also three hours long, and the descriptions of the storyline that I have heard makes me want to scream.  So put this in the "Didn't see, don't wanna see it" category.

Belfast, CODA, Don't Look Up, King Richard, and Nightmare Alley are all movies that I want to see and will see before the Oscar ceremonies at the end of the month.  All are available to see via the various streaming services so it should take no great effort to see them over the next few weeks.

That brings us to The Power of the Dog which leads all movies with a total of twelve Oscar nominations including Actor, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Director, Cinematography, and Adapted Screenplay.  I tried to watch this.  I really did.  I fought against falling asleep while doing so and then gave up after 45 minutes.   I suppose that I could have just been having a bad day when I tried to watch it, and I should probably give it another shot, but I am finding it difficult to work up the motivation at this point.  We'll see.

One other movie that intrigues me is the Best International Film nominee The Worst Person in the World.  It is from Norway and is in Norwegian with English subtitles. Some critics that I respect on one of the podcasts that I listen to have spoken highly of it, so I may just have to seek that one out.

I shall be reporting in with my thoughts and comments as I see some of these other nominated movies.  

Oh, and one other cool Oscar factoid that maybe interests only me......Ariana DeBose is nominated for Best Supporting Actress for playing Anita in "West Side Story".  Rita Moreno won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for playing the same role in the 1961 movie version of "West Side Story."

From Linda, Special Guest Blogger

In my most recent Grandstander post, I told the story of my new relationship with Linda Mulzet.  In a mere three days, the response to that post - over 400 views - is perhaps the largest one in the twelve years that I have been writing this Blog, and the positive comments that I have received from it when I posted it on my Facebook page has truly overwhelmed both Linda and me.  We are so grateful.  So much so, that Linda has asked for "equal time" here in The Grandstand, so, with deep gratitude for her kind words, I turn it over to her.....

February 27, 2022

BOB

On February 25, 2022, The Grandstander a/k/a Bob Sproule, wrote an incredibly raw and heartfelt blog, simply titled “Linda.”  In grand Bob Sproule style, he chose his Grandstander platform along with a tag to Facebook, to share with friends and family, the news that his friendship with a gal named Linda, had unexpectedly and unexplainably turned into a “couples” relationship.

Amid his continued devastating grief from losing his beloved wife, Marilyn, after 47 years of a truly blessed marriage, he found himself in a position to explain to the world, how “two things can be true at the same time.” 

The late, great Paul Harvey, ended each of his broadcasts with, “now you know the rest of the story.”

I assure you that there are several facts that Mr. Grandstander left out of his blog dated 2/25/2022, simply titled “Linda.”

And now for the rest of the story, told by that gal named Linda.

In October 2021, grief came upon many of us; we suffered an incalculable loss. Marilyn’s passing touched many.  Some lost a sister, an aunt, a Great-Aunt, a life-long best friend, a cherished co-worker; most notably, a beloved wife.

I regretfully could not attend Marilyn’s funeral, due to a Covid exposure.  I reached out to Bob to let him know I could not attend assuring him he undoubtedly would be surrounded by many- so many that I believe I referred to it as a “blur” and that when the “blur” ended, I would be there to listen.

I was trained to “listen”, it’s what we do at The Caring Place, and I was unfortunately correct in feeling that “The Man, The Myth and The Legend” at The Caring Place, (yes, that is what Bob is endearingly referred to by many at the Caring Place), was going to be unable to practice at his darkest moment, the 12 years of teaching grief processing he so graciously shared with countless families. 

I am writing this part of the story to assure all of those in Bob’s life, his statement that he “remains devastated by her death”, is truer than true.  Darker than dark.  The Grief Journey never ends; the griever’s needs never end.  Yes, a gal named Linda may be sprinkling a little sunshine into his life, but that does not take away the cruel reality that Mare is gone, and he misses her so.

Fast forward to the Hilton Head trip.  Yes, as Bob wrote, it was his first trip taken since Marilyn died.  I travelled with him and got to experience Hilton Head for the first time through his years of vacationing there with Marilyn.  The sights and sounds of the Island were beautiful, our weather was unseasonably warm for February (mid 70’s) and the food was amazing!  I am sure the Grandstander will be highlighting all the wonderful details of a week full of wonderful adventures.  I, being the author of “the rest of the story”, need to continue to share the other side.  the side that found me holding the hand of a wonderful man who stood vulnerably in the ocean, fulfilling one of the promises made to Mare, that she would one day be returned to the place she dearly loved.  The side that found us wiping tears from both of our eyes as he gently placed some of her remains in the sand.

As Bob wrote in his blog titled “Linda”, “at the darkest moment of my life, Linda has brought and continues to bring joy to me.  I am so lucky and so grateful that she is a part of my life.”  I too, am so lucky and grateful to be a part of Bob’s life.  I believe in higher intervention and trust we were put together for reasons yet to understand.  As grateful as I feel to be a part of his life, I will never forget or accept WHY we were able to be a part of each other’s life and will continue to honor Marilyn amid our relationship.  Looking back on the evenings at The Caring Place while I held her hand and we all recited The Caring Place pledge, “I am here for you, you are here for me, we are here for each other,” I am brought to my knees in both sadness and joy.

I bring you the rest of this story as I know from the incredible outpouring of responses to Bob’s post, he is truly loved by all of you and want you to know how much that means to him and how much he needs every one of you!  I am truly blessed to be a part of his life and appreciate all the well wishes that were addressed to Bob & me.  A very special shout out to all the amazing “Littles” out there. “La Cheeserie!”

Please remember all those who grieve.  The Grieving continues.  Send sympathy cards MONTHS after a loss (receiving them all at once is both overwhelming and sad when they stop being received), take the time to call the griever (texting is NOT enough), a voice needs to be heard and please make the calls in the evenings, when the loneliness is the hardest to bear.   Do not judge decisions made by a griever.  They are coping in their own way, in their own time.  And please, remember, even if it appears someone has a sprinkle of hope in their life, they are still unfathomably grieving, still crying, and still processing how to get out of bed each day.  A sprinkle of hope is not enough; it takes a village.

“Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart and you’ll never walk alone.” – Rodgers & Hammerstein, Carousel

And “Now you know…. the rest of the story.” 

Linda

I spent the past week on a vacation in the beautiful resort community of Hilton Head, SC.  As regular readers know, I always write about my vacations on The Grandstander.  Mostly, I do it as a sort of journal and historical record for myself, but I think that there are some readers out there who actually enjoy reading about these trips.  So, I will tell you about my most recent trip, but I can't do that without some background information.

This is the first trip that I have taken since Marilyn died in October, but I did not take this trip alone.

Meet my friend, Linda Mulzet.

Marilyn and I met Linda in 2019, when we all worked together at the Highmark Caring Place.  Linda was a new volunteer working her first group, and, in fact, she worked with me and two other volunteers in the same room with a group of six middle school aged kids.  As so often happens with volunteers at the Caring Place, we became friends and remained in touch after our ten week session was over, and even through the months when COVID-19 pretty much shut down the in-person operations of the Caring Place.

After Marilyn died, Linda reached out to me to convey her sympathies.  After talking with her and not having seen each other in almost a year, we decided to have lunch together.  Then we decided to have dinner together, and before either of us really knew what hit us, we were a "couple".

If you are surprised at the timing of me falling into a relationship so quickly, I can assure you that you could not possibly be more surprised than I.  I never planned on this happening, and certainly not within this timeframe.  However, one thing that I have learned from twelve years at the Caring Place is that there is no rulebook insofar as what life can serve up to you as you embark on your grief journey.  I can assure anyone reading this, that I remain devastated by the death of Marilyn.  I miss her every day, and I know that I will for the rest of my life.  I also know that Linda has brought joy and hope into my life at a time that I needed it the most.  As our friend Maryellen put it to us, "two things can be true at the same time."  

We tried to be circumspect in our relationship at first, trying for the most part to keep it under wraps for obvious reasons.  Around Christmas (and honestly, I'm not sure how I would have dealt with the Christmas season without her) I began telling some friends and family members that I had begun dating.   The two people that I thought would be the most upset, Marilyn's brothers George and Jim and their wives, could not have been more supportive and happy for me.  My own brothers and sister have also been great about it.  Some others were shocked, but I also know that many of them are still mourning the loss of Marilyn, so I get it.  

Most of our friends outside of the family have also been happy for us and fully support us.  Perhaps not surprisingly, we have also gotten cold stares and negative vibes from some people.  I truly value the reactions of people like one of Marilyn's very best friends, Judy P., who said that she knew that Marilyn wanted something like this for me, and from our friend Lynne, another CP volunteer, who just this week said that we "deserve to have joy in (our) lives and do not owe any explanations."  Thank you, Lynne.

At the darkest moment of my life, Linda has brought and continues to bring joy to me.  I am so lucky and so grateful that she is a part of my life.  The Grief Journey never ends, but I am glad that Linda, who also loved Marilyn and continues to honor her in the midst of our own relationship, is now here with me.

Rams 23 - Bengals 20, and Other Super Bowl Thoughts

 THE GAME

What had been an absolutely terrific Playoffs Season for the National Football League culminated this past Sunday with a Super Bowl that, if it wasn't one for the ages, it was certainly a damn good game.  As I stated in the run up to the game, I, and many others, was looking forward to watching young budding superstar Joe Burrow lead the Bengals to victory.  Burrow played well, but the inadequacies of the Bengals offensive line, coupled with the great play of the Rams defensive line, led by Pitt's Aaron Donald, proved too much for both the Bengals and him.  The quarterback play on both teams, was okay, but nothing epochal.  Matthew Stafford threw two interceptions, and the Bengals had managed to to forge a 20-16 lead into the fourth quarter.

However, when the lights shined the brightest and the heat was the hottest, it was Stafford, the 12 year vet, who came through when a quarterback absolutely has to do so.  He led a lengthy drive in the fourth quarter that ate up much of the clock, and culminated in his second touchdown pass of the game to the marvelous Cooper Kupp that ended up winning the game for the Rams.  As he has been all season, Kupp was fantastic in the game and earned MVP honors.  He sealed it on that last drive by not only catching three passes, including the game winner, but by rushing for a critical first down on a third and long play early in the drive.

Even then though, the Bengals got the ball back with slightly more than a minute to play, and Burrow did complete a few passes, and it looked like Cincy was driving for at the very least, a game tying field goal attempt.  Until that is, Donald and the Rams defense took charge and forced Burrow to hurry a throw that fell incomplete on a fourth down play, and that was all she wrote.

Early in the 2010's, I saw Aaron Donald playing defense at Pitt.  He was easily the best player on Pitt's team that year, but none of us watching those games could have possibly foreseen what he was to become:  the hands down best defensive player in the NFL of his generation.  His performance on Sunday was typical of him.  He took charge of the game when the Rams needed it the most.  Kupp was voted MVP, but if Donald had received the award instead, no one would have argued the point.

As for Burrow, he shows signs of becoming one of the faces of the NFL in the 2020's.  The Bengals need to get him some help on that line to protect him, but there is every indication that we will see him again on this biggest stage in the future.  However, it's a tough game, and when contemplating this thought, it is impossible not to think about Dan Marino.  He, too, made it to the Super Bowl in his second year and lost, but everyone was sure that he would be back.  He went on to a Hall of Fame career, and he is one of the all-time greats, but he never played in another Super Bowl.

THE HALFTIME SHOW

In his column in the Post-Gazette on Monday, Tony Norman pointed out that the musical art form known as Hip-Hop made it's debut to the world in 1972, fifty years ago.  FIFTY YEARS AGO!  So it is quite possible that there were some early twenty-somethings watching the halftime show who said "what are they doing dragging those old guys out to perform?  How about something current?"

The point is, popular music is generational.  My parents didn't get Chuck Berry or Elvis, perhaps my twelve-years-older-than-me sister didn't get the Beatles or the Rolling Stones, so while the music of the '10s and '20s might not be my cup of tea, I am not going to shout at the clouds about it.  So, what the hell, bring it on.  That show on Sunday might not have been for me, but I did like seeing Snoop Dogg perform.  Actually, I could watch Snoop's Corona beer commercials run on an endless loop and enjoy those.  "It's the fine life, baby."

Which leads us to....

THE COMMERCIALS

I don't pay as much attention to the commercials as I used to. There was time when I would actually write them down and take notes.  No more, so I can only give you my impressions of the ones that I liked and stayed with me.

• The Chevy electric truck commercial that was a riff on "The Sopranos" opening credits and featured the actors that played Meadow and Anthony Jr. in that series.  (Note to self: Check IMBD later to see if those two have actually been in anything since "The Sopranos" went off the air.)  I loved it, but at the same time, I have heard from people who had never watched "The Sopranos" (??) and had no idea what was going on.  For your enjoyment, here is that commercial.

• Any commercial with the Mannings in it.  (The one in the bowling alley with Peyton, and the Caesar's Sports Book with Peyton, Eli, Archie, and Cooper.)
• Larry David for crypto-currency.
• The E*Trade Baby is back!!!

I'm sure that there were others, but three days after the fact, these are the ones that are sticking with me.

THE BETTING

I put my money on the Bengals +4, so good.  Also, a month ago I made wagers on a couple of different teams to win the Super Bowl, including the Rams, so good.  Had a few prop bets that came through as well.  All in all, I finished in the black on my Super Bowl wagers.  Not a lot, mind you, but I didn't lose money, so hooray.  Oh, and I won fifty bucks on a block pool for having 7 and 3 for the first quarter score!  Thank you, Jen Wickert!

Super Bowl and Other Sports Thoughts

 Some Sporting Thoughts on a Saturday afternoon.....

Tomorrow, of course, is Super Bowl Sunday.  I have not commented upon the NFL Playoffs in this space, not sure why that is, but over the three weekends of Playoff action, we have been treated to some terrific football, most notably during the weekend of the Divisional Round, which was culminated by that epic win in overtime by the Chiefs over the Bills.  It has now come down to the Cincy Bengals and the LA Rams.  An up-and-coming team that was the worst team in football just two years ago versus an older team that has mortgaged the future in an effort to go all out and win this game this year, a game that is being played in their home stadium.

I never thought that I would ever find myself rooting for the Bengals, but these are not the Bengals of Marvin Lewis, Pacman Jones, Vontaze Burfict, and the Soul Crushing Interceptions of Andy Dalton.  They are no longer the Cincy Bungles.  Instead, they are now a young and exciting team and are led by second year  QB Joe Burrow, a player who appears to be so good that he could become the next face of the NFL as the decade of the 2020's marches on.   He makes watching a game involving the Bengals Must See TV.

It is the defense of the Rams, led by Pitt's Aaron Donald, that has made them the favorite in tomorrow's game.  Indeed, it is that defense that could allow the Rams to prevail against a Cincy offensive line that is not among the best in the league.  That said, I am counting on the youth and all round brilliance of Burrow to win the Big One tomorrow.

*********

On the heels of the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady announced that he is retiring.  Twenty-two seasons, ten Super Bowl Appearances, seven Super Bowl championships, and playing with a flair and skill to such a degree that I cannot summon the words to adequately describe.  If you doubt this, go back and watch a replay of the Super Bowl where he led the Patriots back from a 28-3 third quarter deficit to an overtime victory against Atlanta a few years ago.

He is, simply, the greatest quarterback of all time.

My grandfather saw Honus Wagner and Ty Cobb play baseball.  My Dad once saw Babe Ruth play baseball.  I got to see Tom Brady play football.

********

The 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing have now reached their halfway mark.  

I have yet to watch any of them.  There are a variety of reasons for that...the time difference, the difficulty in knowing which TV/Streaming/Internet platform to find which events, the fact that the Summer games were held just six months ago...all contribute my sense of ennui to one degree or another, although each objection can be overcome relatively easily if the desire was there.  I think that I made my decision to stay away  because of all that we know that goes on in China and with a government that has such a brutal disregard for basic and simple human rights.

I won't preach about it or tell you that YOU are wrong if you are fully into these Games, and I know that what I am doing here half a world away will make not an iota of difference in Chinese government policy, but somehow I feel a little better by not supporting these particular games.

Another reason to avoid these Games is to offer yet another negative vote toward the International Olympic Committee.  In a sporting world that includes FIFA and the NCAA, the IOC could be the dirtiest, most hypocritical, and most corrupt governing body of them all.  

Here's one example:  Because of their cheating by the rampant use of illegal doping agents and performance enhancing drugs, the nation of Russia was banned from participating in the Olympics.  Russian athletes, however, can continue to compete under the banner of the "Russian Olympic Committee", which, of course, is RUSSIA!!!  The IOC can trumpet how hard they come down on drug cheating nations all they want, but, folks, RUSSIA IS STILL COMPETEING IN THE OLYMPICS!  Why else would none other than Vlad Putin himself be in attendance at the Opening Ceremony last week?

Oh, and in the news this week was the reports of drug cheating among athletes from, wait for it.....Russia. Oh, excuse me, the Russian Olympic Committee.

********

Baseball.  Major League Baseball.  It's February, the time of the year when Spring Training opens, and hope springs eternal for fans of their favorite teams.   Not so in 2022.  There is a lockout.  A new CBA needs to be negotiated and agreed upon.

Wake me when it's over.  At this point, I could not care less about how several billions of dollars will be apportioned between Owners and Players, especially when I know that the eventual outcome will be yet another middle finger to teams like the Pirates, or, more to the point, to fans and followers of teams like the Pirates.

Whenever they decide to come back and play, I will be in front of my TV watching and I will be at PNC Park for my normal share of ball games.  Baseball and the Pirates, for all of their ills, is too much a part of my sports fan DNA for me to ever walk away.  However, the current stewards of the game should be aware that people like me will someday all be, you know, dead, and there are not enough younger people out there to take our places.  By the middle part of this century, baseball will be what horse racing and boxing are today, just another niche sport that mainstream America just won't care all that much about.

"The Stranger in the Lifeboat"

 

Before I get into what I thought of this latest best seller from Mitch Albom, please allow me to engage in a bit of self therapy.

If you know me, or if you have read this blog with any degree of regularity over the years, you know that I love to read.  It is not unusual for me to read over fifty books in a calendar year.  In 2021, I read 34 books, but I didn't read a single book, or at least I hadn't finished one, since last October, which is when my wife, Marilyn, died.  Not being able to focus on a single task at a time has been one of my struggles in this Grief Journey that I am on.  Reorganizing the home files, getting a budget that is "Bob-friendly" on paper, getting the Christmas decorations up, getting the Christmas decorations down, and, yes, blocking off time to sit down and read a book have all been things that I have found difficult over these past four months.   I know that this is not untypical for people in these circumstances, so I have been rolling with it, and, slowly, getting things on track.

A month or so ago, Tony Kornheiser had Mitch Albom on his Podcast for full one hour interview.  It was great show, every entertaining, and Albom is definitely an interesting and entertaining fellow.  He talked about his latest book of his, a novel, and I decided that this would be the book that I would start AND finish and get back on my normal reading track once again.   I will come back to the self-therapy at the end of this monograph, but first, the book.

A group of survivors who abandoned a luxury yacht that exploded in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa find themselves in a lifeboat.  Some are the rich and famous who were aboard the vessel, and some were members of the crew.  Mysteriously, they pull a young man out of the water, a man who was not on board the ship, who proclaims "I am the Lord.  I will save you all if you all believe that I am who I say I am."

In his review of this book back in November, the Washington Post's Ron Charles calls it "Albom's latest inspirational melodrama", and comes up with this brilliant line:  "Think of it as Tuesdays with Yahweh."

Charles didn't think too much of the book, and you can read his snarkily brilliant review of it HERE.   I have to say that I pretty much agree with Mr. Charles on this one.  "Melodramatic" is probably the best way to describe it.  Lots of implausible and cliched assumptions, and lots of treacly dialogue make up the story.  I wasn't crazy about the book, and at times l felt like I had to force myself to finish it, but finish it I did, and I am glad that I did, and that leads me back to the self-therapy that began this post.

On page 241 of this 267 page book, this bit of dialogue takes place as The Lord talks to Benji, the protagonist of the whole novel:

"When someone passes, Benjamin, people always ask, 'Why did God take them?' A better question would be 'Why did God give them to us?' What did we do to deserve their love, their joy, the sweet moments we shared?  Didn't you have such moments with Annabelle?"

"Every day," I rasped.

"Those moments are a gift.  But their end is not a punishment....

"Beginnings and endings are earthly ideas.  I go on.  Feeling loss is a part of why you are on Earth.  Through it, you appreciate the brief gift of human existence, and you learn to cherish the world I created for you.

"I know the tears you shed, Benjamin.  When people leave this Earth, their loved ones always weep. But I promise you, those who leave do not."

As I continue to come to grips with the death of my wife, I believe that this book is the one that I was meant to read first after her death, and of all the words on all the pages of Albom's novel,  I believe that those words quoted above were the words that I was meant to read.

"Mary Worth" and Worthless Wilbur

About fifteen years ago, I discovered a blog called "The Comics Curmudgeon", written daily by a gent named Josh Fruhlinger.  Every day, Josh would take aim at a couple of that day's comic strips, make some acerbic and often hilarious comments, and then open the gates to his readers, whose snarky comments were oft times truly hilarious.  If you are a regular reader of the daily funnies, I highly recommend that you check out the Comics Curmudgeon at www.joshreads.com.

One of the precepts of this blog is that true comic gold lies not in the strips that are supposed to be funny (Blondie, Beetle Bailey, Snuffy Smith et al), but in the soap opera strips, the "serious strips" like Judge Parker, Rex Morgan MD, and, most especially, Mary Worth.  I have now been hooked on "Mary Worth"  - a comic strip that has been running continuously in America's newspapers (and now online) since the Great Depression - for close to fifteen years now, and the sheer insipidness and cornball melodrama brings me great joy, as do the comments that appear on various online forums every day.

All this background serves as a lead in for a commentary on the current story arc that author Karen Moy, who as been writing, if you can call this "writing", this strip since 2004 and foisting upon the reader.  A few months back, resident schlub Wilbur Weston got into an argument with his lady friend, Estelle, because her cat was interfering with screeching noises whenever Wibur would serenade Estelle by playing the piano and singing.  Wilbur got into a fight with the cat (I did say this was insipid, did I not?) and Estelle gave him the boot.  This was perhaps the first sensible action  that Estelle, or just about anyone else in Moy's world, had ever made.  Of course, resident busybody Mary Worth then browbeat Estelle into reconsidering her decision to break up and to take Wilbur back because he does possess some "good qualities", none of which any reader can see.

I am leaving a lot out here, but Estelle, who obviously has no self esteem whatsoever, took Wilbur back and the two of them went on a cruise to renew their relationship.  All was going well until Wilbur asked Estelle to marry him, a proposal that Estelle sensibly and amazingly turned down.  Wilbur pouted, went to one of the ship's bars and got drunk, something that he does with great regularity.  He then decided that he would do a Leonardo DiCaprio "King of the World" pose on the rail of the bow of the ship, whereupon he drunkenly fell off the several stories tall cruise ship into the dark night time waters of the Pacific. Regular readers rejoiced at the possibility that Wilbur was now sleeping with the fishes, as dead as Luca Brasi.  Of course, Moy couldn't pull the trigger, and we then see that Wilbur had washed up upon the shore of a deserted desert island.  A week later, Wilbur discovered that he was actually on one of those "private islands" that cruise lines own.  Meanwhile, back in Santa Royale, Mary, Estelle, and Wilbur's daughter Dawn were all mourning the death of this fatass Wilbur.  Then, without calling anyone to let them know that he was still alive, Wilbur showed up back at the Charterstone Condominium community.

Like I said, I have a lot of fun details out here, but all of this led to this "recap" strip this past Sunday:

So, it looks like the women of Charterstone, even Mary, were appalled by Wilbur's inexcusable act, and this was even reinforced by Monday's strip:

Just look how pissed off Mary looks in that second panel.  Surely this is the last straw for Estelle, and Wilbur will now become the social pariah that he so richly deserves to be.

Then we see today's strip, and "not so fast, my friend!"

Yep, looks like Mary is reverting to her interfering nagging self and will once again bully Estelle into taking this drunken, gluttonous piece of shit back.  Here's hoping that Karen Moy will opt for a realistic conclusion and that Estelle will never again allow Wilbur to darken her door again, but we regular readers know better.  They will once again be a couple, and the only good that will come of it will be the comments of snarkers on the online Comics Forums.