Teacher Laura has come up with a brand new assignment which includes having her students read letters written by children in a school in Minneapolis and write letters back to them, thus making all of the students pen pals. Sounds like a nice idea. Albert's letter was from a 13-year-old girl named Leslie Barton. She sounded very popular and so Albert wanted to try and match wits with her. His inspiration came from overhearing Charles' bedtime story to Carrie, and so he wrote in his letter that he was 6'1 and the bravest boy in Walnut Grove. After all, a little white lie won't hurt anybody, right? Well, sir, Leslie was thrilled when she got Albert's letter and quickly penned him another, stating that she was also tall and athletic. In fact, she was captain of the team. Hearing this, Albert decided he also wanted to be captain of the team, so with help from Willie's football and some of the smaller students, Albert had a picture taken to send Leslie to show her of his stature and create the illusion that what he says is true. What other lies could Albert feed his new pen pal? Well, after he delicately removes a splinter from Carrie's finger, he writes about his yearning to one day be a doctor, and how his sister's hand was impaled by a large piece of wood, but he managed to remove it. But as much as Leslie didn't really know about Albert, there was plenty he didn't really know about her.
Leslie Barton was in fact paraplegic and confined to a wheelchair. Despite her rosy outlook on life, her circumstances were just the opposite. Dr. Marx knew she could never walk again and Mrs. Barton just couldn't bring herself to tell Leslie the truth. That night she broke it to her "gently", how all the pain she felt in her legs as Dr. Marx poked them for testing was all in her mind. Leslie, you will never walk again. You need to stop pretending, stop wishing and have no hope or dreams for the rest of your life! And there is no Santa Claus either! I made that last part up. Poor Leslie now had to face the hand that was dealt to her. A hand that cannot be re-shuffled...but not in her letters to Albert. Oh no, the lies will continue from both sides. This penned infatuation was having an adverse effect on Albert and his behavior, as Laura, his sister/teacher pointed out. He was supposed to turn in his letters to be graded before they were mailed, but he skipped the middle part. These letters were personal and unfortunately Laura didn't understand such things. An opportunity to finally meet his pen pal face to face came when Charles was expected at a grange in Minneapolis. He could come along if it weren't so damned expensive. So, he tried to sneak aboard the train...and got caught, however his sainted Pa bought him a ticket. Well, he finally got to Minneapolis and tried to see Leslie, only she didn't want to see him. She kept telling her mother to tell him she wasn't around. Poor Albert, he was heart broken. But he wouldn't give up. He was determined to meet Leslie face to face. So next morning he and Charles stake out the front of the Barton estate. Finally, he got his first glimpse of Leslie in her wheelchair. He bravely walked up and professed his love for her and how from that day forward he would be honest and up front with everybody. A week later Albert received a letter from Leslie, saying the feeling was mutual.
And as expected, we never see or hear from Leslie again. Believe it or not, it wasn't entirely acting on young Suzy Gilstrap's part. She really is paraplegic. It seems she was crouching by a pond to feed some ducks when a tree branch suddenly broke off and landed on her, breaking her spine. Very tragic. But all that aside, she was very good in this episode. Matthew Laborteaux was also very convincing. Even though I am not an Albert fan, this episode still tugged at my heart strings. Albert will have another tragic romance later this season with Sylvia. It seems he can never catch a break. So if you like Albert and episodes of this caliber, "Dearest Albert, I'll Miss You" is for you.
Leslie Barton was in fact paraplegic and confined to a wheelchair. Despite her rosy outlook on life, her circumstances were just the opposite. Dr. Marx knew she could never walk again and Mrs. Barton just couldn't bring herself to tell Leslie the truth. That night she broke it to her "gently", how all the pain she felt in her legs as Dr. Marx poked them for testing was all in her mind. Leslie, you will never walk again. You need to stop pretending, stop wishing and have no hope or dreams for the rest of your life! And there is no Santa Claus either! I made that last part up. Poor Leslie now had to face the hand that was dealt to her. A hand that cannot be re-shuffled...but not in her letters to Albert. Oh no, the lies will continue from both sides. This penned infatuation was having an adverse effect on Albert and his behavior, as Laura, his sister/teacher pointed out. He was supposed to turn in his letters to be graded before they were mailed, but he skipped the middle part. These letters were personal and unfortunately Laura didn't understand such things. An opportunity to finally meet his pen pal face to face came when Charles was expected at a grange in Minneapolis. He could come along if it weren't so damned expensive. So, he tried to sneak aboard the train...and got caught, however his sainted Pa bought him a ticket. Well, he finally got to Minneapolis and tried to see Leslie, only she didn't want to see him. She kept telling her mother to tell him she wasn't around. Poor Albert, he was heart broken. But he wouldn't give up. He was determined to meet Leslie face to face. So next morning he and Charles stake out the front of the Barton estate. Finally, he got his first glimpse of Leslie in her wheelchair. He bravely walked up and professed his love for her and how from that day forward he would be honest and up front with everybody. A week later Albert received a letter from Leslie, saying the feeling was mutual.
And as expected, we never see or hear from Leslie again. Believe it or not, it wasn't entirely acting on young Suzy Gilstrap's part. She really is paraplegic. It seems she was crouching by a pond to feed some ducks when a tree branch suddenly broke off and landed on her, breaking her spine. Very tragic. But all that aside, she was very good in this episode. Matthew Laborteaux was also very convincing. Even though I am not an Albert fan, this episode still tugged at my heart strings. Albert will have another tragic romance later this season with Sylvia. It seems he can never catch a break. So if you like Albert and episodes of this caliber, "Dearest Albert, I'll Miss You" is for you.
