Hi everyone,

As you can see I'm back from my holidays and it's back to work again next Tuesday. It has been very hot down here, and when the hot weather starts, you know that it is definitely time for school to start back. :-) I really don't know why we don't have our big break in February rather than January, but I suppose it can be just as hot in January too. March is often extreme as well, although we do get cooler mornings then. I'm not really complaining either. We haven't had any over 40 degree days, at least not while we've been in Melbourne. Tim told us that there were some while we were up in Sydney, but we didn't get the really hot weather while we were there, except for the last day. We flew out at 5 p.m. and at 6.30 p.m. huge storms blew up in Sydney. I'm glad we were well and truly gone by then.

I've been having a bit of a Waltons fest this week. I've watched the second part of The Outrage (I don't have part 1), The Last Ten Days, The Whirlwind, The Tempest and The Revel. I'd forgotten Jonesy's first appearance on the Mountain, so it was good to catch up with that again. I particularly found the ending sequence of The Outrage to be moving, when the train goes past the station, with the carriage carrying the coffin all lit up with the soldiers standing on guard, and John says "Goodnight, Mr President". I always enjoy The Last Ten Days, again especially at the end when Ben manages to speak to Cindy. Believe it or not, I also enjoyed watching The Whirlwind and The Tempest, although I know that I'll get plenty of people writing back saying they hate it. The more times I watch it, the more I'm coming to like them, although I'd rather have had the real Curt back. It's nice that both Mary Ellen and Curt can now put the past behind them and move forward with their new partners. It must have been hard for so many of the men who went to war and saw such awful things, to come back to their wives and try to be the same people they were before they went. Obviously Curt felt that he was doing Mary Ellen and John Curtis a favour by not returning to them. Perhaps he was. Something to think about anyway.

I'd love to get a copy of The Idol (where Virginia is born), The Grandchild (where John Curtis is born) and also The Outsider (where Cindy makes her first appearance). Seems I'm missing some very important Waltons moments in my collection!

Well, keep your letters coming in. Great to see so many of you writing. What do you think of The Revel as the ending episode? I actually thought it caught the spirit of The Waltons very well, and enjoyed the ending narration very much. It was an interesting move having the ball at the Baldwins home, rather than the Waltons, but I thought it showed up the community spirit very nicely.

I see there are some good episodes coming up on TNN this week. Some of the best loved ones are there, like The Gift and The Ghost Story. Speaking of the Ouija board in The Ghost Story, I was looking at The Foundling the other day, and guess what's in Ike's store on display? Yes, it's the Ouija board. Don't know how many episodes you can see it in, but it was obviously there well before it featured in an episode.

Have a great week everyone. We'll be back to normal digests now, so some time during the week or weekend.

Goodnight all,

Karen.

Hello Walton fans,

I'm new at this so here goes. Just wanted to say hey to everyone. One of my fave episodes of the Waltons is The Sermon. I liked the idea of John Boy (Richard Thomas) preaching. It was a wonderful episode. I like the way Esther got all fired up at the idea of John Boy preaching ha. I liked when she slams her hand down on the dresser and the look on John Boys face was priceless. I thought the grandparents should have their own show. They were both talented actors. I loved the way Grandma would always be calling Zeb an old fool whenever he did something to make her mad. In my opinion they helped make the Waltons a great show. Also I loved how when John Boy was preaching he sort of set some people straight on what it means to really be a Christian. (eg. When he heard Corabeth talking about his mom.) Ha! Of course I think all the Waltons episodes were really good. Well, take care Walton fans. Happy New Year and god bless. Dan.

KAREN'S COMMENT: You've picked one of my faves too Dan. I just love this episode. It would have been interesting for the grandparents to have had their own show.

Hello everyone! Well, I have successfully moved to our new house, it is wonderful! And thankfully the transition was smooth with my web-tv/e-mail! Having that out of the way, I just wanted to comment about who gave John Boy the dulcimer. The dulcimer that he played and sang with was from "old man Dawson" but in the scene where Jenny and John Boy parted, Jenny gave him a brand new one as a going away gift ... Happy New Year everyone!!!

Judy

KAREN'S COMMENT: How right you are. I don't think we ever got to see "old man Dawson". Was he ever mentioned again?

Hi, just to let all know I saw the movie "Castaway," with Tom Hanks, and Mr Godsey has a short part in the movie, and he still looks the same, great movie.

KAREN'S COMMENT: Yes I had heard that he was in it. It's only just been released out here.

Dear Karen and Walton's Friends,

Happy New Year! I have not made a contribution in some time but enjoy the news and warmth of each digest that comes my way.

I journeyed back to Virginia for the Christmas Holidays and spent a grand visit with all family there.

A few months ago I mentioned my grandma's home place had caught fire. I drove past there this trip and sadly saw that it had been leveled to the ground. It will stand in memory only now.

Now on to good news, I want to mention that happily the love of my life and I finally got engaged on New Year's Eve! Plans are not definite, but something simple by the end of this year. I wish so much I could have a quilting before I marry like Mary Ellen did. That episode was so moving, and one of my all time favorites!

Thank you Karen for another year of digests!

Goodnight Everyone,

Marabelle

KAREN'S COMMENT: What a wonderful start to the year for you. Congratulations to you and your fiance. Do you have any sewers among you family and friends? I think it's a lovely tradition too, but people seem so busy these days that nobody seems to have time to sew. Maybe people could make a patch and you could sew it together. :-))

I was wondering what the exact title is of your trivia book? I've been hunting the web to find it but to no avail yet.

Thanks Donna

KAREN'S COMMENT: The book that I have is called "The 25th Anniversary of The Waltons: a book of trivia" by Mark A. Jones. I think it may have been a self published book. It is fairly thick, but bound very simply with a very soft paper cover. We call it cover paper here, but I'm not sure if you would know what I mean.

Dear Karen!

We both live only an "AL" away, because I am living in Austria. I know the Waltons since many years and I am so interested in them. As now I have the Internet I am able to search for them. A dream of me is to once visit the house where all the series was done and to meet the actors and to sit down on the long kitchen table together with them all. SO you see: I can dream!

I also want to tell you that there is a new Christmas CD produced in 1999. I received it from a fan in the USA who has their own Homepage.

Please let me know more about you. I am so interested to hear about people in other countries, especially from those who have the same interests.

To my person: I am nearly 40 years old, married, one daughter (16) and one son (7). I work as a secretary and we live in Göming. This is a very small town 1 km away from Oberndorf, which you certainly know as the town, where first was sung "Silent Night, Holy night". If you want, you can visit it at www.oberndorf.co.at.

I would be pleased to hear from you soon.

Best greetings from Austria/Europe to you.

Annemarie

KAREN'S COMMENT: I wonder if you have read some of the past digests yet? That would tell you a lot about me. Go to Past Waltons Digests.

About me in a nutshell though...I am married with two boys (19 and 17). I am a teacher librarian and work part time in a primary school library. We live in Ringwood, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (where the Australian Open is currently being held). Your town looks lovely...I visited the website. :-))

Dear Karen,

I hope you have a great visit in Sydney and with your parents. Corrin had a WONDERFUL time in Sydney during Christmas; Craig gave her the ring Christmas Eve in the Blue Mountains. She called us at 6:00 am Christmas Eve here to let us know. Now for the wedding, probably a year from now, here in Kennesaw, Georgia.

Last week we went to see Cast Away with Tom Hanks. During the beginning of the movie, I think the actor who played Ike Godsey was in the scene at the Christmas dinner table. Is there anyone out there who knows for sure? The connections with the Waltons are eveywhere...

Everyone loved his/her Christmas CD, and I still have one more to give this coming weekend to my sister in Memphis...

Enjoy your warm weather. It has been very cold here in the southern US, but we're up to 50F today, almost tropical compared to the 20's we've had lately.

Thanks again for all your work, and Happy New Year.

Leathea

KAREN'S COMMENT: Corrin's Craig sounds very romantic. I can't think of a better place to give a ring than the Blue Mountains. Did she just adore them? And the ring too? LOL We adore the Blue Mountains, very spectacular and so rugged.

Susan- I realize you are actually looking for the trivia book Karen has. I have several requests out for it, but haven't heard on them yet. However I did hear back on the book the Donald F Nelson and Erin the cat talked about so am forwarding that response on to you in case you're interested in it too. And to Karen, just for her information and to share with the newsletter if she think others would like to hear.

After looking at the price these people are asking it makes me wonder if Ebay or the like would have it for less..................Anyway, hope this helps or gives you a direction. I may receive more offers on this book which I would be happy to forward on to both of you if you would like. Just let me know.

Donna

KAREN'S COMMENT: Thankyou for the information Donna. I won't include the rest of what you sent, but the book was available through Rector Press and cost $75. That does seem a bit extreme, but what was the original cost of it? Please let us know if you get any other replies. I've had a look on my regular 2nd hand book searches, but nothing has come up. Any further details might help though.

Greetings from Virginia!

Hi everyone, and happy new year. I'm hoping for snow, but it's in the 50s in Virginia right now. Not much chance for snow at the moment!!

I've been reading "The Avocado Drive Zoo" by Earl Hamner, Jr. recently. It is such an entertaining book. In case you haven't read it, Earl writes about the years when he and his wife Jane are raising their children in California. It mainly focuses on the large and varied assortment of "pets" that they adopt over the years, but throughout the book he makes references to his upbringing in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. It's really delightful, and I recommend it highly!

Nancy

KAREN'S COMMENT: Sounds like the ideal book to curl up with in front of the fire Nancy. Glad you're enjoying it.

Dear Karen: I hope you have not forgotten me as I have been off the line since Oct. and did not get a chance to tell you and your Walton Fans about the reunion at Schuyler, Va. with the Hamner Family and 5 of the actors that played in the Waltons. What a wonderful day we had. Jason had his whole family there and I got a chance to hug him, his wife and his son and daughter. They are such a beautiful family.

There was a lot of people there. All of the Hamners were there except Earl, and he could not make it as he had another commitment. I got lots of pictures. There were two young girls that were the show, but only there for about the last couple of years so were not as well known as Jason. He looks just about the same and hasn't changed a lot, but oh..he was so friendly and nice. I told him I lived in the house next door to the Hamners when I was a little girl. He was very interested, as were the Hamners. It was quite an experience.

By the way, the reunion was Oct. 21 and 22 2000. The weather was very nice and everyone was having a very good time. The mood was very happy and friendly. I may go again next year, if I can find out ahead of time who will be there. I hope a lot of the fans will see this email as our I-opener broke down and it took till now, 5 months later to get it fixed. Needless to say, I have really missed you and your digest. We have moved since I wrote you last. We now live in Titusville, Fl. close to our daughter and her family so she can watch out for us as we are getting on in years. Bye for now and hope to hear from you soon.

H. Marie Walker Bradley..Hometown Schuyler, Va.

KAREN'S COMMENT: Glad to hear that you had such a great time at the reunion. Look out for the next one later this year.

Hi Karen, I'm relieved to hear from you, hoped I wouldn't have to wait until returning home in March.

Weather here in Florida has not warmed up yet, but better than back home in New England.

To Barb from CT: isn't it funny how we call actors by their stage names? Your reference to Ike in Castaways. Well, it's true he'll always be Ike to us Waltons fans.

It was John Boy who sang BOTH verses of the love song to Jenny in Love Story, and yes, he did pluck the strings.

To CJ- thanks for the great history of the dulcimer which you shared with us all.

I don't seem to find any Waltons on TV here in Florida. I miss them.

Goodnight all, Ruth

KAREN'S COMMENT: Don't tell me you're in a Waltons Depression too Ruth. Get out those tapes and start watching!!! LOL

Karen,

Just wanted you to know that over the new year we had computer problems and our email address had to be changed. I hope you can change it. I haven't gotten your newsletter in a while and realized I forgot to tell you. Also TNN has removed the Walton's from the 5:00pm showings on weekdays and no more mini marathons on Mondays. Now it is only on at 1:00pm on week day afternoons or 2:00am Sunday morning. It's a shame for working people. Now they have soap opera type shows on. Not family orientated that's for sure.

I guess I'll have to try and tape a lot. It makes me worried that soon the last time slot will be taken away too. Tell every one to write to TNN.

Kathy

KAREN'S COMMENT: Thank goodness for VCR's. Mind you, a 5p.m. show wouldn't be much good to me either when I'm working because I'm often just leaving school then anyway. With the children long gone it's a nice quiet time to finish things off. Can you threaten them with not keeping TNN on at all, or is it tied up with other stations in a package. Out here you get Foxtel or Optus as your cable provider, and then choose the package of stations you want, but maybe you get to choose them individually. I'm sure TNN wouldn't want a whole lot of people to stop getting their network.