Some people are indeed built cheap. Some just abuse themselves, Carrie Fischer was only a year younger than me, but she didn't take care of herself, by her own admission.

leslee you know we disagree sometimes, and I have to confess I'm not a big fan of Osmunds or Andy Gibb. They made money singing tho, not to be sneezed at. Someone somewhere has to like them, there is a market for their entertainment.

I think what gets to me, is Donny and Marie, Andy and Marie, were putting out "a pretty picture of love" a view that all was sweetness and light within their relationship. I think a lot of folks here in the Moody fan base have the same perspective of the Moodies, that they are beautiful to see, therefore must be perfect to know. Perhaps Andy, like so many before him, wanted to shatter that pretty picture too, and just be a real human.... therefore the downfall.

I feel the allure of that "perfect" Moody picture, yes. But the rational part of me keeps slapping me and saying "not reality not reality" Real people disagree and even sometimes fight. Some fight too much, some suppress their anger in the name of "peace".... there has to be a middle ground. THAT is reality, the maturity to look at conflict and resolve it. Not WIN the battle. Resolve it to the (usually compromised) satisfaction of all involved. When the make up and the mask comes off, the lights go down, you're just regular real people after all.

Sometimes spouses, well loved for years and years, DIE. Dang.... life is an imperfect place. How you handle it is your measure of character. I was watching Arlo Guthrie last night.... for him it ALL goes back to family. His father was a superstar of HIS era (the American folk movement) Arlo and his wife lived the hippy dream, ranch in Massachusetts. Many children, and now grand children, Money was never an issue. But reality catches up with us all and she died five years ago. He goes onward, and did a darn good show last night.

It sucks getting old, but that is where my generation is going now. That is reality. I prefer to live in reality, as depressing as it is. Two people in love, with their shining young faces, is not reality. It's a pretty picture, but no one is home.

If life was what we wanted it to be, I would still be swilling beer, gobbling pizza, and laying in a big hot tub with a glass of wine and a hotter stud. Reality does not allow that, unless I want to be included in the realm of "built cheap"...........

later edit, what I think I'm trying to say, is there is a good partnership and two people who care about each other. Then there is the MYSTIQUE of true love. Being in love with love and addicted to the thrill of love endorphins. Once the beauty fades, and the mystique and endorphins leak away, is the love and caring still there? Is that person still the one special rose on your lonely planet?

I actually liked Marie Osmund too.... built to last, those Osmonds that's for sure. She is a lady of class. Andy seems very young.

Your manners are exemplary, worry not. I'm a rude [fill in your favorite insult] but I've lived in a shark tank for a good deal of my life. I've survived. Hammerheads, beware! I value your company too, leslee.

I think what I'm thunking my head on is, all the fans who collect the photos of our Moodies.... fall in love with the photo... have shrines to their favorite Moody... count how many pictures they have. Share their scrapbooks full of Moody photos.

I was washing the dishes (my hands in water set my mind free somehow) and wondering how women can be married yet still obviously in love with their favorite Moody (enough to go into total conniptions over it on line, jealousy etc.... very puzzling, especially 15 and 20 years) They aren't hiding it from their spouses. How do their husbands deal with this? Isn't marriage a thing of intimacy? That is my definition of love. Not collecting photos of my favorite star and staring at them in between times I get to actually see him/her. Are they just married to their husbands for the meal ticket? Is there no love left there? Just because you've captured all those images of someone, doesn't mean you're intimate with them!

Sorry.... I was burned badly in the performing arts when it comes to "love".... people play games. I learned the hard way. The guy I loved in high school was gay. The Navy was no better, pretty horny lot out there defending our country on the waves. True, even sex is not love .... (sorry I was just using it to illustrate.... hot tubs can be fun frolics, not that I get much action these days) but dollars to doughnuts, most men certainly think sex is heavily involved in THEIR intimate life!!!!!!! And a fair share of women too.

The older I get, the more failed and successful marriages I see, I think something Tennessee Williams said in *Cat on a Hot Tin Roof* is true. Big Mamma points to a bed, and says rather nastily "The marriage is made right THERE" I think it is very true. Kudos to those who do love pure and happy with no sex (may these people find one another). But in many cases, a fool underestimates the sexual needs of their spouse at their own risk. Wandering eyes are the least of it. If the intimacy isn't at home, the neglected spouse WILL go looking for it.

I found a good article that I think more Moody fans should read. Then I'm off to vacuum the floor. Got a lot of clean up done today.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/apr/29/intimacy-sex-better-relationships