Little Women, Largely Forsaken
Happy Anni-hearse-ary™ to yarn-spinning inkspiller Laura Ingalls Wilder — of "Little Women" or, possibly, "Little House” fame — who took her knitting needles and parchment writing tablets to the great hayloft in the sky on this day, February 10, 1957. "Miss" Wilder — unmarried lasses weren't called "Ms." back then, as folks didn't know how to pronounce it — based her timeless tales of sisterhood, spinsterdom and dresses that were once tablecloths on her experiences growing up on Walton’s Mountain in a home without indoor plumbing. Young birds on either side of the pond — or rather, creek — were hooked and Hollywood soon came a-callin', resulting in 1933's "Little Women In A Little House," starring speech-challenged charmer Katherine Hepburn and a young Winona "Judd" Ryder. 'Twas remade for the next generation of love-starved dressmakers as a 1970’s television series, “Little House On A Large Prairie,” with curlicued cowboy Little Joe Landon playing father to pint-sized Little Melissa Gilbert. Ms. Gilbert would grow up and out in all the right places, settin’ her pa’s teeth on edge when she became the object of every single feller’s desires in a string of made-for-television heavy breathers — eventually settling down with one of them — “Scarecrow and Mrs. Kling" star Bruce "Box" Leitner, even taking his name for a spell, complicating matters for fans who bookmarked her Gilbert-Box-Leitner web page, which was deactivated following the subsequent divorce proceedings. The good news is, the problem has been rectified and fans of the youngest Walton sister — Erin or Elizabeth — can visit Melissa-Gilbert.com and click on the link to purchase her memoir “Prairie Tale,” now available pre-owned on Amazon® for the same price as the original “Little House” or possibly “Little Women” tome — which is to say, 1 penny. A fact that would have infinitely pleased money-minded Deathday™ girl Ms. Wilder herself. She would have been 163 today.