Mary Worth 260

I didn't know Mary Worth was a big Weepies fan- very cool.



And credit resident poet, Scott, for the new banner and the latest addition to the Charterstone Jukebox: Glow Worm. Thanks, Scott!

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Mary Worth 259

My family returned from our camping trip last night, and I couldn't wait to get caught up on this week's Mary Worth. But I was also thrilled to receive "Eats Shoots and Leaves" selection for the Charterstone Jukebox: "See the USA in Your Chevrolet."


If you want to know what my camping trip was like with my family, this video captures it almost precisely. Except we were in a Honda Odyssey.

We camped at Deep Creek Lake in Maryland, and visited several nearby state parks, including Swallow Falls and Blackwater Falls in West Virginia. If you ever have the chance to visit the lodge at Blackwater Falls, do! They recently celebrated its 50th anniversary and I'm pleased to announce that the lodge is permanently stuck in 1957, which has to appeal to any true Mary Worth fan. While the scenery and hiking trails were spectacular, I constantly felt like I was vacationing in some sort of 1957 travel reel. This "Virtual Tour" of the lodge will give you some idea. Have fun exploring the many fine amenities.

But on to Mary Worth:

I have to admit that I was more than a little satisfied with the story's direction this week. All seemed to be just fine until this morning when Jeff turned passive aggressive. Waiting until he's completely satiated himself on seafood scampi, he stabs Mary in the back by bringing up her recent behavior. I almost expect Mary to toss her water onto Jeff's really cool shirt.

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Yesterday's Full Strip

And the day before that.

Where's the Bun?

Wanders is camping with his lovely family this week and will return shortly.

In the meantime, I wanted to leave you with this observation: I've always assumed that Mary Worth wears her hair in a bun. However, I've been watching very closely the past few weeks, and from whatever angle I stand, I just can't seem to glimpse Mary's bun.



It's some sort of weird, freaky, rotating hair style. No doubt it travels just like [spoiler alert!] the island in "Lost." Her hair seems to be pulled so tightly that it actually enters the back of her skull.

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Mary Worth 258

Every great tale is thrust forward by its Major Dramatic Question - the question that hooks our interest from the very beginning of the story: Will Adam eat the apple? Will Indiana Jones recover the lost ark? Will Superman save the world?

And now we know the answer to the Major Dramatic Question of the epic Ron Amalfi v. Jeff Corey story: 2A. Mary Worth's apartment number is 2A.

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New Banner

Congratulations to Eats Shoots and Leaves for submitting a new banner incorporating today's Most Brilliant Mary Worth Panel Ever. I won't promise to keep it up forever (I'm so fond of "Capisce," and I'd enjoy seeing other ideas - particularly ideas that enhance the Brand. ES&L will be adding a song to the Jukebox soon.

Mary Worth 257

Well, this sure was a wonderful story. Jeff dared to suggest that Mary was paying too much attention to the man whose mother died while he was out beating up his brother in the hospital parking lot. Mary threw Jeff out of her condo for daring to tell her how to run her life. Then she waited school-girl-giddy by the phone for her new boyfriend to call. The new guy takes her out to dinner at the most romantic restaurant in Santa Royale, political power dripping off his Botox tight complexion. When the paparazzi plaster their romantic interlude on the front page of the News, Jeff's feelings are hurt and he dares to say so to Mary. Mary feigns ignorance, claiming her raging desire for this new man is nothing more than friendship, and Jeff storms out of Mary's condo, this time on his own volition.

It's not a bad start, but here's where the typical Mary Worth plot pattern occurs: Ron Amalfi breaks two dates in a row with Mary. Mary cheerfully suggests that because of his busy life, they perhaps shouldn't get too involved with one another and "leave it at that." They thank each other for being so great, and then Mary Worth cooks something. She decides to give Jeff a call, and now he's coming over for some scampi and comfortably boring conversation. Maybe tomorrow they'll even go sailing together.

Yes, the story went from pretty good to absolutely amazing!

A reminder to anyone who is new (and who might have managed to read this far into an unusually lengthy entry): Don't forget to get your FREE Secret Message by holding your cursor over each image (most of them at least).

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Mary Worth 256

Now it's shrimp scampi? Mary, make up your mind. Seafood? Shrimp? Ron? Jeff?

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Mary Worth 255

Jeff: Run. For. Your. Life! In some sort of insane rage, Mary Worth has stuffed every single one of her knives into the toaster. Then, grabbing the last knife and waving it menacingly, she has one thought: "Jeff and I need to 'talk.'" Run, Jeff, run! And whatever you do, don't eat her seafood scampi unless she takes the first bight!

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Mary Worth 254

I can't tell if this is Mary Worth's thought balloon, and the thought balloon is thinking of the Bum Boat, or if this is the fish on the wall's thought balloon, and the thought balloon is thinking about Mary and her really, really tall refrigerator.

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Mary Worth 253

Could it be that Mary Worth has become so accustomed to being taken to dinner by elderly gentlemen, that she has forgotten how to cook? She seems quite confused in her own kitchen. However, I'm sure once she gets back in the swing of things, she won't be able to stop. The sun will rise to find Mary Worth smudged with flour and cocktail sauce, asleep beneath her kitchen table, surrounded by mounds of seafood scampi, pies, frosted cupcakes and noodle casseroles.

[Edited to add this link to a recipe for "seafood scampi")

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