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It is unpleasant to learn that the image you have of yourself is false: like the time I discovered I am two inches taller than I am, or that I wasn’t as slim in my actuality as I was in my mind. Yesterday, I learned another unpleasant home truth: my hard exterior does not hide a hard interior at all; I am, in fact, a soppy ball of mush.
PLOT SPOILER ALERT!
You may have watched The Little House On The Prairie as a child, like me, and, like me, forgotten everything you ever saw except for the bit in the titles where the girls run down the hill amongst the plastic flowers (it’s true; I read it on the internet). You may also have a friend who would now be your ex-friend if it wasn’t for the fact that she teases you the best of all your friends but left a comment on a previous post accidentally giving away the juicy bits.
For that reason, I warn you that some of the plot of TLHotP is about to be revealed.
The Hub and I watched the end of series 4 last night…the episode where Mary went blind. I sobbed like a baby. At the most dramatic moment – the part where Charles tells Mary what’s happening to her, the ex-Hub said, ‘I bet she didn’t see that coming.’
All the way through the drama I kept thinking of Tinman. Don’t be concerned (I’m talking to you, Tinman): the Hub is not about to be left (not for another man, anyway; though possibly for cracking a joke when the wife is crying her icicle-covered heart out). I kept thinking of a comment he left on my blog last time I wrote about TLHotP. I’m going to share it here because it is worthy of another showing:
Years ago Ireland were playing soccer in some tiny Eastern European country who didn’t have floodlights, so the game kicked off at around one pm.
As we all gathered in the pub the Little House episode where Mary went blind was on the TV. About five minutes before kick-off we asked for the football to be put on and a choking voice said “No, wait a minute, this is just over.”
We looked around and one of the old guys who drank at the bar was in floods of tears watching it.
If an old Irish guy can weep over something that happened 140 years ago, then so can I. If it transpires that I am sentimental under my frost, the Hub is just going to have to get used to it. He needn’t worry, though: I’m not going to be mushy about him; this isn’t The Little House On The Prairie.
The Laughing Housewife 
It used to air on Sunday nights here, my dad also cried like a girl.
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lol!
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I watched ‘Juno’ last night – and cried, (with sobs) when she gave the baby away.
I remember my father always taking the mickey out of Ma and I if we watched anything that made us cry. (Little H on the P, Love Story etc, etc… but ackershally I wonder now if it was because it made him uncomfortable, rather than because he didn’t approve, which is what I thought at the time.)
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That was a good film!
No, I think it was the latter. My Hub makes fun at all the sentimental parts on tv and he’s much more sensitive than I am.
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I’ve only ever known your marshmallow centre (except towards WP prompters!): it’s why I love you!
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Ssh! Don’t grass me up to the readers!
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I should let my Hubs make a comment on this one – when we used to watch this program each week, there was always the moment – every episode, when Michael Landon would tear up and/or cry. My Hubs has a policy – no male is allowed to cry without him. Therefore, no matter if he thought the show was sad or not, if ML cried, so did AMC.
The only time where we both burst out laughing at what was supposed to be a VERY sad and tender moment was an episode (I believe a 2-parter) starring Patricia Neal as a widow with children who discovers that she is also dying. When she sits down to explain to her children (I can’t believe these lines were actually written to be spoken seriously), she tells them “Children, do you remember when your Daddy died I told you that some day we would all go to meet him in heaven?” The children smile, and say “Yes, Mama, we remember.” She then says, “Well, one of us is going a little sooner than expected.”
You’ll have to admit, that is a BWAHAHA moment – especially when you have prepared yourself for a puddle of tears.
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I remember that one.
Your Hub makes me laugh 🙂
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I used to love Little House on the Prairie – haven’t seen it for ages.
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Lovely, isn’t it?
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I often cry through TLHOTP.
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😦
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I tend to avoid sad movies . . . as as not to be reminded of my marshmallow interior. 😉
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But we all know about it anyway 🙂
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Ah, yes. Quite the tear-jerker. However, what I always got angry about myself crying over was a Bayer aspirin commercial that used to air in the US many years ago. It was some old guy who apparently survived a heart attack because of Bayer aspirin and you see him walking down a hospital hallway in one of those skimpy gowns pulling his IV. Then his wife appears and smiles and he smiles and they walk off together down the hall hand in hand. I have no idea why but I would bawl like a baby whenever that commercial would play. It was really embarrassing when I wasn’t watching TV alone and that commercial would play how I suddenly had a tickle in my nose/swallowed soda down the wrong way/my throat inexplicably spasmed….
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lol! You big softie 🙂
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Funny how different things get to different people. I must admit going kind-of mushy when listening to that wonderful recording which told the Paul Gallico ‘Snow Goose’ story.
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I don’t know that one.
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You mean you only just discovered your mushy interior? We’ve all known about it for ages! 🙂
I don’t think I ever saw LHoTP – I read them all of course – they were my best Christmas presents.
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I’m trying to find copies of them to read.
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YOU NEVER READ THEM??????? (shocked of Provence)
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Blame Father Christmas! He didn’t give them to me.
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Oh you are mushy not frosty… anyone with your sense of humor has a warm heart. 🙂
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Blush
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Watching LHOTP often made me cry – but I loved it!
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I’m not used to crying – freaked me out a little 🙂
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I’m a sobbing disaster. I can’t watch any kid movies with my kids because I cry in front of them (e.g. Toy Story 3, never again!). My husband never cries, so I look like an idiot.
Gosh, I just finished A dog’s purpose by W. Bruce Cameron and I absolutely loved the book, but I cried at all the sad parts, and even more at the end (because it was sad, but also beautiful).
You should read The little house on the prairie books if you haven’t. They’re even better than the series. Without the sentimental music that makes you sob.
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I intend to, I promise.
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