The Post Where Me and Bo Duke... We Part Ways: The Irreconcilable Difference

[sisabet]

I have way too many things going on in my head right now and a limited amount of time to post it all in and then I have to worry about potential spoilers and while I normally would not think that Gilmore Girls talk would be a spoiler, I know heres_luck is watching and I don't know what season she is up to and talking about the current storyline could potentially really mess up her viewing experience so I won't without a cut-tag and sdwolfpup is just up to "Die Me Dichotomy" in Farscape and NO ONE BETTER SPOIL HER, 'KAY?! And then any talk about what the hell is going on with Lex needs a cut tag cause it is speculating off current SV season stuff and all of this has caused me to realize two things:

1. I really really hate cut tags.

2. Someone needs to write House/Wilson comfort fic RIGHT NOW BEFORE I EXPLODE!

So instead of talking about any of the above or about the need to have B-side fannish programming (I need recovery shows, dammit!) and the danger of what happens when you need a recovery show to recover from your recovery show (see Gilmore Girls, above), I will instead hold forth something that has been bothering me about last night's Smallville "Krypto" and Ma and Pa Kent.

Now - I am willing to overlook any number of mistakes that the Kents make raising Clark because:
A. I have never raised a super-powered alien child. I imagine it must be rough. And
2. They do seem to mean well and Martha is pretty and Jonathan is Bo Duke and they could stand there and order Clark to drown kittens and I would still probably try to defend them. Somehow. Maybe the kittens need to learn to swim? Sigh.

But there is one thing that Bo Duke has done that I can never ever forgive and I just...I didn't think it would ever come to this, y'know? My love for Bo Duke is strong and true and pure and has been in effect for over 25 years. But this... I don't know that I can get past it.

Spoilers for Smallville "Krypto"

Bo Duke has never let that boy have a dog. That is inexcusable. It is detestable. It is just - I cannot understand this at all. He has a sweet young son who has been overwhelmingly lonely for his *entire* life and this son loves dogs and is such a good, responsible boy and they live on a freaking FARM!!!

I can accept not getting Clark a dog when he was very young because of him learning his powers. But if the boy can take care of the cattle, he can take care of a dog.

OH! And who the hell cares if Clark is going off to college next year or not, Jonathan!? YOU LIVE ON A FARM - A DOG IS NOT A LOT OF EXTRA WORK!!!!

::hyperventillates with rage::

See, I just... I cannot deal with this. I just can't. I don't know ANYONE growing up who lived on a farm that did not have a dog. Or two. Or (in my case) five. Well - unless there was a severe allergy or a parent with a phobia. This is not the case with the Kents. Martha wanted that dog as much as Clark.

So I blame Jonathan. Also - here is where I give my parents' credit. They never once told me I could not keep a dog I found. See, we lived waaaaay out in the boone docks and people would decide they no longer wanted a dog, would drive out near our farm and drop the dog off on the side of the road and take off.

::shakes with rage::

Here is where I came in. If there was a dog in need of a home within a five mile radius of me... basically all he had to do is walk down my street until he found the blonde girl sitting on her front porch swing listening to Peter Cetera on her boombox. I would take it from there. Mom and Dad would always say no more dogs... but they never told me no if I was outside giving a stray food or a bath or naming him Lazlo. And when you live on a farm and already have three dogs of various sizes and breeds - what is one more? It ain't like you don't already have a vet and a deep and abiding relationship with said vet.

Also, I would throw temper tantrums over the dogs. It wasn't pretty. I knew that a temper tantrum at the Children's Palace toy store over a purple My Little Pony would not actually net me a My Little Pony... but strangely enough a temper tantrum over an animal could actually get me a real live pony.

My childhood was possibly not like yours.

Also, I was an adult before I realized that a lot of people have to look for the dogs they are supposed to raise. I always just assumed your dog fell into (literally) your lap. I still kinda believe in a philosophy of your dog finding you... maybe because sitting on the front porch and waiting has really worked out for me in the past.

So, for Bo to not let Clark have a dog - HELL, for Bo never just showing up one day with a puppy and handing it over to Clark because of ... well let's think about reasons Bo shoulda maybe thought to give Clark a dog:

1. Hey - when he couldn't play football freshman year. A dog would have been nice then.
2. You know what Bo? Nothing says "Sorry I shot you back there, son." like a PUPPY.
3. Hey, remember when Clark got sick and almost died and then Martha DID die and you were all upset? A dog would have been nice for Clark after all that.
4. OH! Remember when Clark accidentally caused Martha's miscarriage and you let him know you blamed him for it and then he ran away and you had to go making deals with Jor-el to get him back? I am not blaming you for that Bo, I know parents make mistakes and you have tried to correct yours. But remember when Clark moved back home and decided to stay and Lex bought the Farm for all of y'all? That would have been a great time to give that boy a dog. Kids with dogs might not run away as much. There might need to be a study done.
5. Remember when Clark was blind? You see where I am going with this?
6. What about when Pete left? You didn't think he was lonely then? What about when you came out of your coma and there was no Pete and a dead Chloe and Lana in Paris and Lex was teh debil and you had a mopey-sad teen in your barn? Time for a Dog, Jonathan. Seriously.


I just do not know how I will overcome this. I mean - I can understand a lot. And I do see how with all the heart-attacks and comas that maybe Bo just didn't feel quite up to taking care of a dog.... but it isn't as if they are not already taking care of a ton of livestock. And it isn't like Martha wouldn't help. And it isn't as if Clark doesn't already do more than his fair share of the chores. Just - Jesus, mary and Joseph, Jonathan - you done failed the boy!

Comments

[linzeestyle.livejournal.com]

So why is it that whenever *I* threw a tantrum about wanting a pet, all I got was the purple My Little Pony?

:considers the fact I have sixty plastic ponies in a box under my bed:

Okay, so on second thought I suppose it's a good thing I didn't get my way every single one of those times.

5. Remember when Clark was blind? You see where I am going with this?

That is actually a good point and I'm sad now. They were ready to get him a special teacher - why not a dog?! Or oh, better yet - if Lex was already with Teh Eval and making seekrit super dogs in his basement...why didn't he give Clark one of those then instead of waiting for them to escape and go to Clark? Superpuppies make everything better.

Linzee

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

You don't live on a farm. There is a space issue. For me, growing up, there wasn't. I could have a pony - we had room (and also - it was a *really* old pony).


See - you know what? If Lex had given Clark a puppy instead of a truck, I think Clark could have kept the gift.

This is the problem with Lex - he wants to give something, he just can't seem to ever figure out what the right thing to give is.

[linzeestyle.livejournal.com]

I could've gotten a really *small* pony?

Lex totally should have given Clark a puppy - hell, he could still give Clark a puppy. At any point in DC canon, in fact, Lex could give Clark a puppy and it'd probably make everything better. Puppies do that.

Linzee

[jackiekjono.livejournal.com]

Puppies are a force for good in the universe. This is absolutely true.

[thefakeheadline.livejournal.com]

I totally agree. *sighs* Poor, bereft, puppy-less Clark. I especially couldn't believe that Jonathan wanted to *destroy* the dog that Clark had bonded with, and that had just saved his life. That's just over-the-top mean.

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

I actually understood the need to pragmatically address putting this animal down if he was dangerous - I am a farm kid after all. I think Clark would have understood as well (an Old Yeller thing I suppose)... it is just that Clark has *never* had a dog... this boggles my mind.

[bathsweaver.livejournal.com]

2. Someone needs to write House/Wilson comfort fic RIGHT NOW BEFORE I EXPLODE!

Have you read astolat's House fics (http://www.intimations.org/fanfic/#house)? Although, now I think of it, they're both relatively light and humorous. I *know* I have a long h/c bookmarked at home involving a smallpox epidemic. If you haven't read it yet, I'll get you the link when I go home for lunch.

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

Oh yes - and I loved it and basingstoke's fic. I need more, though. I need something to make last week all better. Or at least distract me.

[bathsweaver.livejournal.com]

Oh--so Bas wrote the House smallpox fic? And I just realized that of course you'd already know Family Portrait (http://smallville.slashdom.com/archive/32/familyportrait.html), so you can pretty much just ignore my comment below. Darn--reccing plans foiled again! :)

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

No - astolat wrote the Smallpox epidemic. Neither of Astolat's stories are light or humorous; perhaps you are confusing her with someone else?

[bathsweaver.livejournal.com]

AHA! You're right, I was mixed up with commodoresexual's Diagnosis, Wilson (http://www.livejournal.com/users/commodoresexual/58667.html). So I did manage to find the smallpox link! Even though, as usual, I ended up making everything more complicated that it actually was.

Although I did think Maryland (http://www.intimations.org/fanfic/house/maryland.html) was pretty comic, myself. Cuddy pulling House off his cases to investigate Wilson; not all that dissimilar to Diagnosis, in that the sleuthing is inter-personal (-el?) rather than some medical trauma where the stakes are life versus slow, painful, and gruesome death by some undetermined disease.

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

I'd re-read "Maryland" RIGHT THIS SECOND except I am at work.

IS THERE ANY END TO THE PAIN I MUST ENDURE??

[bathsweaver.livejournal.com]

Bo Duke has never let that boy have a dog. That is inexcusable. It is detestable. It is just - I cannot understand this at all. He has a sweet young son who has been overwhelmingly lonely for his *entire* life and this son loves dogs and is such a good, responsible boy and they live on a freaking FARM!!!

Until the I find the House link, remember this? In which Clark gets an older brother, English lessons, and eventually, a puppy. (http://smallville.slashdom.com/archive/32/familyportrait.html)

[thebratqueen.livejournal.com]

Someone really does need to write H/W comfort fic.

I myself am currently battling off H/W H/Chase plot bunnies with a stick, and that's all anniesj's fault.

[dorothy1901]

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I'm rooting for the bunnies.

[thebratqueen.livejournal.com]

I have to admit I'm not against them either. I just have guilt issues since I have charity fics that I still need to write.

I need to clone myself, is what this comes down to ;)

[dorothy1901]

I need to clone myself

As a kid, I wanted Superboy's powers. These days: Triplicate Girl's. </comic book geek>

[cesperanza.livejournal.com]

I don't know ANYONE growing up who lived on a farm that did not have a dog. Or two. Or (in my case) five.

I had to keep rereading that, because I kept stopping where it made sense to me, at "farm. " "I don't know anyone growing up who lived on a farm." How true. Wait, the sentence isn't over. Try again. "I don't know anyone growing up who lived on a farm," okay, right, yes, "that did not have..." wait, what are those extra words doing there?

Dude, did you really grow up on a farm? With five dogs? And you knew other people who grew up on farms? Really? Was it way cool? Can I come down there?

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

Hee, most of the people I knew, as a child, lived on a farm. Yes I grew up on a farm. My parents still live there. We raised tobacco and beef cattle (no dairy) and there were always horses and ponies (well not anymore - just two horses) and I *always* had dogs. I loved my dogs. I have more dog-stories than I have people stories. I actually knew more dogs than people.

My parents currently have my little sister's maltese (Buffy) and a stray mixed dog I found about five years ago (Little Boy Shaggy) and two labs (my brother's lab Scully -who is the same age as my dog Sid (dog cousins by adoption - they are a few months apart and are 8) and Dad's 2 year old bitch Kissy) and two beagles.

So I kinda watch SV with an eye toward authenticity. Also - Bo Duke's blue tractor? My dad has that exact tractor. I am not allowed to drive it.

Also - when I was a kid - we could skip school for a week or two in the spring and in the fall to help set or strip tobacco. Anyone could - cause it was a farming community and that was an excused absence. Nowadays, you can't, but then not as many people farm as before and no one makes a living at it unless they are a large operation with a contract to produce with a tobacco corp. And those kinda outfits work better with an influx of migrant labor (much more consistant than a bunch of high school kids) - so the days of keeping the kid home from school to help with the crop are over. But I was there when it still happened. That is kinda cool.

And I don't live there now - but I still visit. You can too.

[jackiekjono.livejournal.com]

I don't understand it, either. Shame on them.

But - KRYPTO! Did you see him with his little cape? Wasn't he adorable? And he is a way better actor than Porthos on Enterprise.

I wonder what's going to happen to the bad dog.

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

I wondered that too! About the bad dog, I mean. Clark seems to argue in favor of redemption so there is always that.

I think, if Angel is alive somewhere, they should give the bad dog to him. Angel also needs a puppy.

[sdwolfpup.livejournal.com]

I can't believe you just dissed Porthos. Porthos the cheese-eating wonder dog! He lives in space, how can you top that?

Hee.

[jackiekjono.livejournal.com]

I get the impression that he just doesn't like Scott Bakula much. I loved him in the episode where he got to follow Dr. Phlox around the ship.

The rest of the time, he just doesn't turn in a believable performance as Captain Archer's faithful companion. Porthos could sell him out for a slice of pizza any second.

[piper47.livejournal.com]

I never realized how much Clark needed a doggie before.

Poor lonely Clark and his puppy-less life.

Thank Goodness for Krypto, he'll make Clark's life happier. ::nods::

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

It is Bo Duke's greatest failure as a father.

*My* dad always knew when a puppy was needed.

[piper47.livejournal.com]

My parent too. Right after we moved to Utah they got our first dog. We all needed a friend then. And then a month later we got my doggie. And we became a two dog family.

::hugs my puppies:: Dogs make things better. So do cats though. I miss my kitty.

from mom

[(Anonymous)]

Now it is true we have dogs and have always had dogs but I just can't remember Sisabet skipping a lot of school to help in the fields...skipping to watch Luke and Laura on General Hospital, of course, or just because she was sleepy or because she had to go to court for a ticket I did not know about until years later, yes...but she was to prone to allergies to help with tobacco. Except the last year her Daddy raised it himself..he had an injury and all the kids came home to help cut and get tobacco in...Sisabet helped a lot...she even led the communion singing on the wagon, since it was Sunday and they had to work and couldn't go to church. It is a precious memory...
love,
mom
oh, check you e-mail...maybe will see you soon.

Re: from mom

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

Mom - I NEVER said I skipped to set tobacco (although I did in the third grade - mainly just because I could and only for a few days because Dad actually made me stay outside the entire time and that sucked. Also, I got nicotine poisoning and threw up and you wouldn't let him put me to work anymore). Dawn skipped to set tobacco - I remember she was in junior high and decided to stay home and help and work on her tan.

[beck-liz.livejournal.com]

2. Someone needs to write House/Wilson comfort fic RIGHT NOW BEFORE I EXPLODE!

OK, I realize this is quite late, but it's possible you have yet to run across this: Surcease (http://www.livejournal.com/users/marzilla/66700.html#cutid1) by marzilla.

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

oh thank you - tzikeh pointed me in that direction the other day and it helped mightily. Sigh.

Oh - HOUSE TONIGHT!