Post 10:
“To See The World”

From 12-Year-Old Anne’s Journal —

Johnny Johnson, the sheep boy, wanted to run away from Mr. Edwards. He met his girl named Miss Mimi who stole his money. Mr. Edwards paid her to tell Johnny to go home because he listens to her.”

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From Anne —

OK, this is embarrassing.  Why is Johnny Johnson called “the sheep boy?”  Any guesses, Tracy?  Or hard evidence?

In my journal, I call a spade a spade.  Miss Mimi is a thief, all right.  I’d even go so far as to call her a grifter.  The real question: is she a hooker too? Mankato, Minnesota is nothing if not a hotbed of grifters, gamblers and hookers.  The actress who played the breathy Miss Mimi got one of the juiciest roles on LHOP. She got to wear black eyeliner, for God’s sake.

Also love the trombones and horns on the soundtrack for this episode.  A kind of Tom Jones approach.

Here’s a thought: maybe when Johnny Johnson wasn’t really able to hook up with Miss Mimi, he turned to sheep for relief?

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From Tracy —

Oh Anne! For shame. I really am rubbing off on you. I think you probably called him “sheep boy” because he always seemed to be lugging a farm animal around.

This is the classic “big town bad / small town good” LHOP story. Of course the real Laura Ingalls was thrilled to see San Francisco herself later in life. Read West from Home: Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder, San Francisco, 1915 for proof.

Love this quote from Mr. Edwards: “You mean you let that little bit of fluff hornswoogle you out of all your money?”

Note to self: Use “hornswoggle” in a sentence at least once this week.