you make a valid point there, but I also think that the reason why Don was avoiding her was because....Helen was the new girl on the block with a past. She was recently divorced, living a liberated life, is voting for Kennedy, hence why all the neighbors seem to be snubbing her. I think they are the same person, lonely outsiders trying to fit in a place which isnt ready to accept them for who they are in the inside...Don a different man, and Helen a woman ahead of her time. But I do like your point there. I need to watch the episode with the actor and director commentary.

Wow, Drink...fascinating!

I like that maybe Glenn could be Don's! Could that be some (if not all) the reason her ex is so peeved at her?

Let's face it...with birth control being what it was back then (although the pill was new and popular, plus Betty did spy Helen's diaphragm in the bathroom) and considering Don's many encounters, there could be lots of little Drapers scattered all around!

This could be verrrry interesting in S3 ~~ or S4??

If Don and Helen had any "relations" in the past, you can damn sure bet he would not ALLOW Helen to move into his neighborhood. Not a chance. The blank stare is Don's way of turning off the libido in front of the missus; a married man who knows how to behave in front of his wife. Helen sitting up straighter is a woman who has a lot of dirty laundry being aired all over the neighborhood trying to keep up the pretense of holding it together and putting on the social niceties.

I don't see Helen being upscale or powerful enough for Don's taste in lustful flings. Rachael & Bobbie were powerful and had money, the beatnik chick (Midge? I just rewatched that epi and still didn't catch her name) didn't have money but she had her own place, her own creative career similar to his and she was very much in control of herself, and even Don. Helen hasn't come that far yet (Joy was just "there" at the right time and place with enough of a fantasy image to take a chance but note the $$ again). Note another pattern with his flings: none have children. Even 20 years ago it was kind of a big deal for a man to get involved with a woman with kids. In Don's days of wanting to run away and start another life (we'll see how over they are, or for how long) I seriously doubt he'd look twice at a woman with children. Don also knows who he is when he comes home, and the womanizing persona (the dreamer who wants to run away) is left on Mad Ave. I'm hesitant to call it womanizing, because he's not out there flirting like the other guys. It always takes someone really unique and bold to catch his attention. Helen is out of the norm, but she doesn't have superchick status, and she doesn't hold any place to run away to - she lives down the street.

Don sleeps around, but it's "serious" with each one (except Joy, but again, that was different, and truly just running at the first opportunity). Generally, these aren't one nighters, so if Helen were an ex, there would be WAY more tension there, not just a dismissive glance. I definitely noticed a sparkle from Helen, too, but Don is beautiful, so it's no wonder (and again, no tension as if there were a past), and I suppose Helen has to learn how to flirt all over again. From her actions and conversations, though, it sure doesn't seem like she's ready for romance or even interested in it where we left off.

Don as Glenn's baby daddy is amusing to think about, but I don't see any past between them no matter how I look at it. Something in the future? Well, anything is possible, but I think it would more likely be the kind of friendship he has with Peggy (brotherly? Any chance Don had a sister?). That was the sense I got between them on the porch, because Don knows she's the odd one out, and probably would be even if she weren't a divorce and he relates to that. I don't see him finding anything in her so compelling that he be able to create a new fantasy around her (which is what all of his flings are about) though, and Helen is probably not interested in trading one shambles for another, but who knows!

Hi. I wrote the article cited above on Helen and Don and one thing I didn't mention in the article - why is Helen always taking those walks up on Tree Ridge? They seem to make such a big deal about it. Is she meeting someone?

RE: Glen being Don's son, not so sure as they look nothing alike - although it certainly creates a parallel with Don's (or should I say Dick's) own upbringing.

There you are Lindy. Thanks for jumping into the discussion and for your analysis of Helen and Don. I thought your article was interesting and wanted to place it on a thread for discussion. Keep us posted on more of your insights as you view re-runs of Season 2. Cheers.

Don is not dumb enough to have an affair with a neighbor. He likes compartmentalizing his life too much to ever do that. Helen wouldn't have an affair with her neighbor's husband because she has already been in Betty's shoes before. The writers even named Helen's cheating ex-husband Dan so we would get the parallel between him and Don. Helen's role on the show is to show a parallel to Betty, who is both scared and intrigued by Helen's life.

There is nothing weird about Helen's walking in it's self, it's just that Francine and the other wives don't understand why she would want to walk anywhere when she could drive instead, because cars implied status.

....D&S you are a real gem.....I plan on re-exploring that scene as soon as I figure out which epi you mean......("CRS" and all......)

There are all kinds of subversive, mysterious dynamics here, which is a big part of the fun......just like life!

And by that, I mean both personal and professional.

I don't know what's more fun - watching the relations and behaviors at the awards shows, talk shows, press junkets, or the show itself.

BTW.....I took a gander at the BofK site this evening, which I generally avoid.....but just every now and then.

I was self-admonishing recently about being "channelly" in terms of their perceptions and posts.

Come to find out - they are channelling US!!

A ha ha haaaaahhhhhh!!

Check it out.....you might read some "repeat" phrases, terms, slang, etc.

http://www.lippsisters.com/

Dry, did you see the little ad on this page (probably gone by the time you read this -- or on some other thread) for Mystery Science Theater 3000? Can it be that they actually have a movie coming out? ("We Don't Make Movies... We Make Fun of Them!") Go Tom Servo!!!

Will you be first in line....me, I'll wait for the DVD.

lol

Whether or not they had an affair, I have no idea. What I do tend to think is she knows him as Dick Whitman.

BTW, Dry Martini, what is your perception of BOK? Someone posted about my articles over there and then they basically ripped me apart. It wasn't the person who posted about my articles - that person was supportive - it was in the comments.

It kind of threw me, the intensity.

I agree with you, Lindy, I think Don/Dick and Helen may know each other, maybe not romantically, but she knows something about his past. I had noticed, too, the strange interactions between the two at the party.

And even though you directed this question to Dry, I occasionally go over to BOK and have even posted a couple times (under another avatar). I enjoy the sisters' comments, and they're pretty insightful. I find the posters over there VERY serious and, not necessarily mean (the sisters wouldn't stand for it; I like that they boot people off for bad behavior), but if the other posters don't agree with something, they act like you've insulted their intelligence. You'd think they were the writers of the show or something, not just dorks with too much time on their hands, like the rest of us!

.....This is a great thread - very funny comments, too.....

SCfan, I haven't seen that one yet - do you suppose we summoned it? I still say I want that job, and I'm starting to think you should too!! Why did it go away, and why don't they bring it back?

Hi Lindy - wow a real celebrity on our little blog! And here we thought we were invisible.....

I just discovered your blog very recently through Google, and this was the second Mad Men post I have seen.

To answer your questions, so far, I think your blog is great. Anyone who likes Mad Men and is as interested as we are in peeling back the layers is good in my book {:)

Fresh, intelligent perspectives are always welcome here, and most of us don't judge them because those are personal views which everyone should be allowed to have without getting ripped to shreds.

Geez. Sometimes I'll post something really dogmatic, and the next day go, "Why did I think THAT??" or "Man, was I misguided!"

Everyone should just cut everyone else a bunch of slack.

I have no idea on a day-to-day basis what they are doing at BoK, or saying, really, and while I have always salaamed and supported their great website, I've also posted here, before, my reasons for not surfing there on a regular basis.

Just one of those reasons is because, since BoK has been basically deemed the oracle by the MM writers, cast and crew, it's kind of like cheating by peeking at the answers to a midterm or something.

I have zero desire to go there, read their stuff, and then regurgitate it here like it's original. I'm getting the creeps just talking about it!

Sorry you had a bad experience. Now you got me curious.....

You won't find that kind of attack here, I don't think, and as you can see, we liked your ideas a lot!

Thank you for joining us - hope you can stay!

.....Still looking forward to viewing those scenes with Helen and Don Draper, just haven't had a chance yet.

Picking apart these red herrings, both subtle and overt, is what we like best around here, I guess, and with this series, any connection is possible.

We are all "waiting for the other shoe to drop," so to speak, in terms of who is going to be the one to finally expose Draper's secret and, as you mentioned, who might already know him as Dick Whitman.

Well said, Dry. ;o) Lindy, you picked up on some body language between Don and Helen that the rest of us missed...I was impressed. They were probably jealous over at BOK that THEY didn't catch it. So to quote Dry, "Thank you for joining us - hope you can stay". Cheers.

Give me a break! I love BOK, and the great insights of both the Lipp sisters and posters into the characters, directing, staging and well, everything Mad Men. The posts stay on topic and don’t drift into red velvet cake.

I wrote a post here about staying on topic and was totally flamed by the same people over and over again (135 comments – pretty good eh?). I once mentioned BOK on this forum and was asked if I read BOK why I was slumming here. The insulting and derogatory comments I’ve read here are way beyond anything I’ve read on BOK.

I’m getting the impression that I am supposed to pick “sides” in Mad Men sites. Are you kidding me??? We’re talking about a TV show! I know Mad Men fans, myself included, are a “little” fanatical, but if I’m going to pick sides it better be because my life is at stake.

Lindsey, I’ve been reading your Mad Men columns (yes, I read you too) and love the humorous spin you add to the characters and look forward to each one. Roger Sterling was so on point. You have on occasion gotten a fact or two incorrect. There are many ways Mad Men fans analyze a given scene so when a fact isn’t correct it really muddies the waters. Still, that’s not a reason to be ripped apart.

So, that’s my two cents and I’m sticking to it.

.....Ookaaayy.....

I was appointed Nasty Bitch of the Week on this Forum through no fault of my own, I haven't seen an episode of Mad Men since last November, and I am feeling pretty darn cranky, so don't be dissing my red velvet cake. I only started that thread 'cause it was Christmastime, there were no new Mad Men episodes to discuss, and I was trying to help keep this Forum going. I would like to drift into a piece of red velvet cake right now....with some ice cream on it, but I don't have any. I am tired of wearing this tiara and sash, and I wish Ruthsgirl would stick her nose back in the door of this Forum long enough for me to return them to her along with a piece of my mind.

There's my two cents, too. Somebody throw in a penny and we'll have a nickel.

Dry, where are your fancy forensic skills? I'm getting deja vu.

.....They took a troll. I mean stroll.

I agree with Drink.... and good post up there, Dry...I agree with what you said, esp. about Lindy (love your posts, Lindy....hope you stick around!) and BoK...and anyone who has been there and gotten ripped should not be told they should enjoy it.

And z, I loved your Red Velvet Cake threads, for what that's worth....

Mambo....deju vu is right.....

.......sigh.......

hah ha. well, I have no issue with BOK, the leaders seem nice and even the posts weren't horrible - just intense - but isn't that the case with blogging anywhere? I've done it myself, so it goes with the territory. No Sarah Palin whining here :)

I love the insights here and also on BOK and will definitely cross-pollinate and mention you guys as much as possible.
What I really love about MM is that the artifice of the ad world so perfectly mirrors real life. I am of the belief that not one character is how they present themselves.

I'm sorry to see such inflammatory remarks here. I wish the issues could be discussed without throwing personal insults.

Nevertheless, as a newcomer to these discussions, I feel I should mention that it is often difficult to join in. It seems like you all already know each other, and your posts are often about responding to and complimenting each other, rather than about the substance of the topic. I hope I'm not being too critical, but I just wanted to throw my 2 cents in. I guess everyone has their own ideas of what this forum should be, and that's okay.

Back to topic: I wonder if Don and Helen truly had some kind of past. Is it possible that they are both just outsiders who feel alienated by the social norms that people like Francine live by, and that makes them understand each other? Some kind of past life and love-child seems too much like a soap opera, and I don't think that's Mad Men's style.

So very right, Lindy...MM is most assuredly "Where the truth lies"....!!

You're right, not..not..., I don't think there's a Don/Helen love connection. My first reaction to Don's strange behavior at the party was that he felt an instant attraction to Helen; she's his type, an independent brunette, and he was trying to be cool. But I'm not completely discounting the possibility that they know each other. Remember how Don ran into that old Army buddy on the train? Surely it's going to happen again, his meeting up with someone from his past, I mean.

Your 2 cents are worth just as much as mine, NJD,JNG, so thanks for throwing them in the pot.

I totally agree with you about Mad Men not being just your typical soap opera. Matt Weiner doesn't go that route with his characters, in my opinion. He gives them so many interesting layers, though, that it is fun to catch them in certain moments and try to imagine what is going through their heads. The descriptions of Don's seeming reactions to Helen were fascinating. So easy to read so much into them. It's my opinion that even if Don were attracted to Helen, she is too close to Betty and the kids for him to act on any of those feelings. I think he prefers to keep his affairs well away from his home and family.

Yes, I agree - Don knows how to keep his affairs separate and away from his home life. Hmmm, I almost wonder if MW or other writers/directors had an idea to lay the groundwork for developing Helen more in later episodes or seasons, and then didn't? I mean, how much in advance do they plan out every detail of the show? Frankly when Helen was first introduced as a character I thought she would have a larger role than she did. Interesting!

Those are good questions. I would love to be a fly on the wall during meetings with the writers. Do they get presented with an outline of what MW wants to happen to each character? Just how much freedom does the individual writer have to manipulate the characters and the plot?

I thought Helen would have a larger role, too, njd,njg, I was wondering, when we didn't see her again, if she was "written out" on purpose, though, since she was probably supposed to be angry with Betty for popping her that doozie in the supermarket!

I feel the door has now been re-opened for her and Betty to again at least be on speaking terms since Betty's calling her to pick up her son --- after discovering Glenn in Sally's playhouse! I'm sure the lecture Betty gave her about motherhood probably did not set well, though!

I recall a conversation with the lady who tweets as @BettyDraper several months back. I already had my theory about Helen having Tivo'd her scenes and rewatched carefully. Anyway, out of the blue she said to me, what is Helen doing in Ossining? This was kind of bothering her, and of course I knew exactly what she meant and told her my theory. I understand the producers/writers might want her there to show how divorcees were treated back in the day, but it still doesn't totally explain it for me. She has some issue with her ex that isn't explained. She worked for JFK - great! - she's headed toward feminism - but all of this would make her more suited to city living.

And why make a point of her walking? Yes, people walk, but the fact that they singled it out and referenced where she was going - back in those days people did not walk, really. It just had that "this will figure later on" feel to it (at least for me).

So right, Lindy...those crumbs dropped by MW & Co. usually do figure in down the line...as many Maddicts have said before....he does NOT throw them out indescriminately!

Helen's probably in Ossining because she has children, and that's where the family was when the divorce occured. She probably would move to the city if she could, but she's a prisoner of her situation, and as many have pointed out, Ossining is where the state prison is. And it's Cheever country, too, as I've stated before.

.....We've discussed this AD NAUSEUM, but this is the place where you come if you like a lot of different personalities, not the place where you should expect a highly-controlled environment and people acting their ages.

We are not serious, we never will be, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Anyone wanting to be strictly serious and on-topic is mostly welcome at The Basket and a number of other great blogs, so why come here and be miserable?

And to be fair - it's not like we are total morons.

I won't speak for the others, but I have personally posted my ass off in the past few months, and I don't mean junk. I made a real effort to bring engaging, intelligent "bones" "home" for the other dogs, even when I didn't have the time, and even plundered past posts for engaging and interesting material to regurgitate for the newly-arrived.

There have been PLENTY of inappropriate behaviors over the past two years, but I mostly try hard to stay chill about it (unless it's destructive) because people are more important than control, at least to me.

We are definitely wild and free-associative, but that's what we value most about this forum, and we ain't no chopped liver.

Why does levity and personal interaction make it difficult to chime in, exactly? How is some of us having a little fun exclusive of ANYone? Exactly where is the "left-out" part there??

This is the world's easiest-going group of people, and I continue to fail to see how this can possibly be offensive.

Of course we know each other - we've been here every day for the past two years, and for the past ten months, it's been mostly just a handful of people holding up a leaky roof during a storm.

Is it someone's idea that we should pretend NOT to know each other, and NOT indulge in the free-associating? Because that sounds like Hell to me.

I just feel very adamant that, unlike many other blogs, there is plenty of room here for everyone! Jesus - we've been dying for new blood for months! Just jump in and be yourself, fercrissakes!!!

Start your own thread, and SAY you prefer the attendees stay strictly on topic. You can do anything you WANT here!!

You don't hit the internet, demanding that complete strangers coddle you and hold your hand…..no one is going to do that! Would you do that at a party??

You just get in there and state your positions and take the arrows you deserve, and return the ones you don't!

Isn't that the POINT?? No one’s running this thing – it’s like a boat on auto-pilot, and we are all on it together. A cocktail party boat. How incredibly dreary if we all acted like The Stepford County Auxilliary.

There IS no "inner circle" here. And, guess what, spend a couple of days here, and you might end up being part of something fun.

Or, you can do what apparently many posters do - sit silently in your room shaking a bitter, balled-up fist, casting hexes on our heads.

Maybe the fact is, we ALL contribute something different, at different times, even, and maybe together it means a symbiotic, harmonious place to hang your hat for a bit.

A symphony, if you like.

(I'm the triangle!)

{:)

.....Or the czurna.....can't decide.....

Oh, well said, Dry! (what the hell is a czurna? Can I be the piccolo?)

.....You can be anything you want! Even another czurna.

It's an extremely loud, cacophonous Turkish woodwind horn dealie.

From Wiki.....

The zurna (also called surnay, birbynė, lettish horn, surla, sornai, zournas, zurma) is a double-reed outdoor wind instrument, usually accompanied by a davul (bass drum) in Anatolian folk music.

czuma!!

gesundheit

.....Heh heh!

I choose to be the piccolo, another wind instrument. I have been accused in the past of being full of hot air, so I shall put it to good use.

C'mon, Maddicts all! Pick up your instrument of choice and get ready to play. Season 3 is almost upon us - what shall we play to get us into the mood and transport us back to the 1960s?

Bravo, Dry! Perfect, simply perfect.

Oh, and....dibs on the tamborine!

bang.....jingle......jingle.....jingle.....ssssshhhhhhching!

z....I nominate "Go Where You Wanna Go" by the Mamas and the Papas....

Here....I'll get my tamborine going....chime right in czurna, triangle and piccolo...

.....Good one, z.....You've become quite the self-effacing one lately - but always wry and funny!

Lindy - you scared yet?

Ha!

Okay, so WHAT was the subject of this thread, again??

{:)

I'm just not seeing any mystery surrounding Helen's character at all. She's there to parallel Betty whenever the storyline requires it and nothing more, IMHO. To each their own opinion, though! :)

Dry, z's become "self-effacing" lately because flaming does that to one...when I got accused of wielding a butcher knife and boiling bunnies all those months ago, I felt the same way for quite a while...we love ya, z... and remember....you're no more full of hot hair than I am....uh, that didn't come out right....!

= - }

Here's a good'un by Mama Cass (she's good here, but not as good as she was in The Mamas and Papas, IMO)

This is pretty apt, I think....JMO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RhriAN7jME

I like Lindy's take on Helen's walking everywhere. In the 60's my Mom would have driven to the end of the driveway to get our mail if she knew no one was watching. The whole Route 66 thing.....drive, drive, drive. Cheers.

Hey, I'm really glad I found this group and I think you all have great comments. I plan to stick around, and thanks for welcoming me.

Dry, please don't think I was suggesting that you all become robotic, anonymous drones with no sense of humor or personality, or that I'm sitting in a room harboring resentment. That's not it at all. It was just a quick, friendly comment of my opinion in response to the flaming, and you're free to ignore it. No one owns this site, and I think among all of the threads there's enough room for everyone's styles and preferences.

I'm looking forward to S3 and the great discussions we'll have after each episode!

.....not not.....It occurred to me a couple hours ago that my comments could be construed as being personalized toward you, and that isn't the case at all.

I rushed here to tell you that, and had originally meant to qualify my statements, but forgot by the end.

We wouldn't dream of intentionally driving away new friends. Some of the Maddicts (not ME!) can be strong medicine, but mostly people know to step over us when the occasion calls for it. We come back around eventually. We're crazy, but not toxic!

But it is only fair to take into the big picture everything that's transpired in the past ten months, and how the people who were here got this way.

Think of us as a wounded, straggling band of soldiers walking back from the Civil War down miles of long, dusty roads.

When nothing else is happening, that is when the human nature issues come out, and let me tell you I think I've seen it all, at this point! We were getting it from all sides.

You try sitting on a dead board for ten months with everything that's happened here, and see how stir-crazy you start to look!

What I would say is that anyone who is annoyed with anyone else for straying should go ahead and feel free to step up and get everyone back on track.

I believe the term used recently was "herding cats?"

I've said this before, but it's a democracy not a fiefdom. Equal rights - equal responsibility. And it's nice to have someone take up the slack when we are not at our best, or have an axe to grind that IS off-topic.

People can skip the irrelevancies, it happens every day, and they can post to the comment they want to address.

That's usually what happens.

In any case, the people who've been here over the winter and spring are just the ones that hung around.

When the season starts and the throngs start flocking again, there will be so many good threads and conversations, chances are you won't even run into us, and we'll probably be very busy staying on topic.

Saying that, it would not be uncalled for, for us to take your comments into consideration and try harder to be grown-ups.

(Heh hehhhhh....)

Dry...your analogy of the "wounded, straggling band of soldiers, walking back from the Civil War down miles of long, dusty roads" sure puts the last 10 months in perspective....whew....Tell me, Maddicts, if you had it to do over, would you have stuck it out all these months on the forum?

Myself, I flip flop daily as to whether I think I should have or not (lurked all this time, that is)....depends on if I'm getting torched or not, actually....ha?

...and as for "herding cats"...I believe our darling zerelda came up with that one!

More descriptive words (for the Rebel Maddicts, anyway) were never typed!

ha!

...Oh the rich tapestry that is the Maddict Forum after each season starts!..I look forward to it immensely!

And as for you, our new friend, njdnjg, another hearty welcome...but, beware, this forum is highly addictive!

...as if you couldn't already see that, huh?

lol

.....Also, keep in mind, any new folks, that, in addition to the NUMEROUS human behavior and Maddicts rights issues we've been struggling with here for months, we have also been posting these SAME posts, OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER, every time a new person shows up, in an effort to be engaging and welcoming.

I think this is the seventh or eighth time around on the Joan rape issue, tenth time around for the Betty/Glen issue, fifth time around for the "Helen Bishop: Divorcee" issue, etc., etc., etc.

That's not a perfect excuse, but if we seem jaded, or rebellious or disrespectful, well, those are many of the reasons.

Yes, Dry, we all have definitely made a heroic effort to be welcoming to new folks ~~ and anyone who posts different has not been paying attention!

We were all new once, and remember how it felt.

Haha - wow, I really didn't realize all the history here! Well, thanks everyone, and especially thanks for keeping things going in the off-season.

As for being grown-ups....that's overrated anyway ;-)

Well, at least we aren't still arguing, excuse me, discussing what happened to Peggy's baby.... AND, nobody has asked recently when Season 3 will be starting! Whoo-hoo! Things really are looking up.

I love this Forum and everybody on it (well, feelings are mixed on Ruthsgirl....no they aren't - I hate her). I love our chin wags, and I would not have missed the last 10 months for anything. There may have been some wild chases down a few strange mouseholes along the way, but you are all a bunch of really cool cats, in my opinion.

Well, z, I have to agree...even with all the minor (?) disturbances...it's been one wild ride for sure.

I don't know how other Maddicts feel, but I would put our Forum up against any and all...and for my money, we'd come out on top every time. You can't beat it for entertainment value (without driving or using any gas or spending $$) now can you?

Just one crazy old Maddict's opinion, anyway....

.....not not.....Cheers.....

z.....No you don't. She's a Maddict who lost her way.

So.....

When in the name of GOD is season 3??

.....Who you callin' a "mouse hole?"

.....Be cool, mah bebes!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYoTGgBRwdQ

.....So sorry.....FF to 1:21.....

Is this where I get my "Colonel" status? Being part of the band of wounded soldiers making their way along the blog. The only hope ahead is that Season 3 will come and rescue us all with hundreds of new topics for discussion. Cheers.

My take on the blank looks is that Don had never met her before and doesn't want to get involved with her. Period. Divorced woman with kid, in neighborhood - Prescription for disaster.

True, she's an outsider, just as he feels like an outsider. But they did not click on any level. She wasn't looking for an affair and neither was he. That Betty was concerned enough by the near presence of the Divorced Woman to him that she came out and insisted Don get Sally's birthday cake told Don he'd made the right decision. Which could have been one of the things he was pondering at the railroad crossing. So there's a blank look on his face every time he comes close to her. He really doesn't care.

Besides, Helen's already got him tagged in her mind as Cheating Husband. She's already had one of those.

Ritt1 - I so agree with you. Helen's well aware of the pain of a cheating husband. Even if it was on the sly Helen and Betty are now developing a friendship (sort of) and a blue Cadillac hidden within a few blocks will be noticed and commented about real fast.

I don't think there was a past either. Betty's quick "get the cake" was because of Francine's nod and the problems she had with what's-his-name, the jerk husband that slaps other peoples children. There wasn't even time for Don & Helen to ignore each other.

Carlton, that's his name.

.....I just realized that in getting all anticipatory about the soon-to-be thundering herds, we will also be getting more trolls.

The odds are something like 1 out of every 30 people is a toxic troll, so it's part of the landscape whether we like it or not.

Kinda like slugs in the garden? Or a Japanese beetle infestation? Can I squirt'em with the garden hose? Hit'em with a shovel?

"Feudin' and fussin' and a-fightin,'
Sometimes it gets to be excitin', "

In all seriousness, I am noticing some new arrivals to the Forum and old friends returning. Hooray! I am not really such a terrible person, and I promise not to greet anyone with a shovel or the hose. I love Mad Men too much to want to stifle or drive away anyone who wants to share their insights about this terrific TV drama. We are going to have such a great time come August 16th!

.....Well, I said it before, but you are probably one of the BETTER behaved among us the past few months! You've mellowed a lot.

Quit beating yourself up. You did not deserve to be flamed out of the clear blue. It was a random outburst of inappropriate hostility, and probably had very little to do with you.

After having the place to ourselves for so long, I'm starting to think S3 is going to feel more like a tidal wave than a cocktail party.

Better get my Water-Wingies and my Zodiac.

And my rubber ducky.

...bust 'em (like tomato hornworms!) between two boards.....eeeeeewwwww..........z..... get that water hose ready.....yeeeck....

...and z, the key phrase up there is "wants to share their insights" (not just judge and finger point)!

To all of THOSE type of new/potential Maddicts, I say..."Come on in...put your feet up....and jaw (or as z so poetically puts it...chin wag!) awhile...we love having you, and the more the merrier!"

.....Please, I have a weak stomach and hubby just loves to terrorize me by talking about it and thrusting their giant green squishy wriggling bodies in my general direction.

Trolls are like volcanoes. They roil and boil beneath the surface, and can explode without warning, searing everyone around them.

"Chin-wag....."

Heh heh.

God, those hornworms are the worst!

I can't figure why 1950's Hollywood never made a movie (think "Them!" or "Tarantula!") about a giant hornworm terrorizing the masses....AAAAAAhhhhh!

What I don't get is why everyone always ran IN FRONT of whatever the creature-of-the-week was....why not take off to the side?.. and just keep going? ....while he/she scooped up all the dumbos/easy pickin's who kept running right in front? Oh well....

God....August.....please.....

Sorry, Drink...we all posted serious posts on your thread waaaay up there, but then, of course, off-topic-itis struck again...I am sorry....I know you've never griped about such things, but, I apologize just the same....

.....Hilarious - I think that in just about every chase scene in every single movie.

same thing with the zombies...they walk all of a mile an hour (not counting that zombie-foot-drag-shuffle!) and no one can ever out run them!

oh well...such earth shaking questions...stagger the mind....

.....But the real question is, do they walk a mile for a "Camel?"

OMG - somebody shoot me!

No need to apologize, SCfan! ;o) Getting off topic once in awhile makes it interesting. Not everyone agrees, but that's okay too. Cheers.

..."once in a while"???!! ha! ~~ more like every day!

Oh well, I guess it's kept us from going bananas all these months...that and the wild parties!

hee

P.S. ....uh....has the nail polish worn off yet?

All I can say is, "thank God for acetone". Cheers. ;o)

.....That is quite the visual, Drink! Glad to see your little W.C. Fields-looking guy is back.

I don't know about holotta (my accomplice in crime) but I'm just glad you didn't get a lawyer!

heeee?

.....Where is flower? Hope she didn't run away.