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Post by morbiddadestiny on Jan 5, 2008 15:25:34 GMT -5
diabetes sucks. my grandmother and uncle have it as well as a family frirend and i always worry that i'm going to get it when i'm older (because it seems to run in the family) if i don't take better care of myself now, but sugar is soo good. although i guess it would be type II diabetes in that case? either way i wouldn't wish it on anyone and i think it's awesome that you work with kids who have it, aln.
i always liked how they made the most "sophisticated" fashionable baby-sitter the one with the sickness, it was a nice example of how having diabetes or something like it isn't going to change you as a person or make you some kind of outcast.
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Post by greer on Jan 5, 2008 16:18:47 GMT -5
I would have actually liked to see a parent with a chronic illness. My mom has MS and it is actually far more difficult than my parents' divorce to deal with. And i know sunny's mom had cancer, but that was more about dealing with her death rather than spending decades having to deal with it.
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Post by aln1982 on Jan 5, 2008 17:06:48 GMT -5
^ Agree about the chronic illness. Having any family member deal with one is a real trial. Morbidda, I think you are thinking of diabetes ii, which at least isn't quite as bad as 1 (from what I hear but thankfully don't know from experience ;D) I would also like more baby-sitting chapters and development of some new friendships between the charges. What ever happened to the Perkins kids?
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Post by greer on Jan 5, 2008 18:24:30 GMT -5
The perkins girls got too old for ann to keep writing about them as 5 year olds without them getting embarassed I think diabetes ii can be bad too, but is preventable whereas diabetes i isn't. I also think diabetes ii is controlled with lifestyle changes, but can also lead to blindness and amputation. Correct me if i'm wrong though
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Post by aln1982 on Jan 6, 2008 1:07:37 GMT -5
^ I think you're right, Greer. They are both definitely bad, just ii is preventable and despite what some people think, type i is not really preventable through lifestyle. Sorry about your mom, Greer. A cousin has MS and it's really hard to deal with. Do you live with her at all now? I know that must be especially challenging and would be for kids, too.
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Post by booboobrewer on Jan 6, 2008 3:12:59 GMT -5
yeah, type two can lead to blindness and amputation. that's so sad
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Post by greer on Jan 6, 2008 5:58:37 GMT -5
Sorry about your mom, Greer. A cousin has MS and it's really hard to deal with. Do you live with her at all now? I know that must be especially challenging and would be for kids, too. Nope, i don't live with her. I can't stand suburban PA.
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alula
Sitter-In-Training
Posts: 406
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Post by alula on Jan 6, 2008 14:52:45 GMT -5
yeah, type two can lead to blindness and amputation. that's so sad Especially because for a lot of poor people or people without insurance, they can't get the reliable regular care that can prevent a lot of complications. Three diabetes clinics closed in our area this year because they were not "cost-efficient." ERs have to treat people, but by that time it's usually too late. (And in general, the poorer you are the harder it is to manage a healthy diet.) I would have liked to see some member really struggle with a mental health issue, either themselves or a loved one (like a parent)--either Mary Anne's depression issues or something else, and not like Robert's "depression-lite" getting fixed in one book. Mental illness can be just as bad as chronic physical illness, and in some ways even worse in that it's often so hard to diagnose and control, and there's still a social stigma. I also sort of would have liked to see them deal with an unhappy family that couldn't be fixed immediately--not a specific problem, but ongoing, either the Kilbournes or someone else. I think it would be interesting to see the sitters figure out how to be supportive in that kind of situation. I would have liked to see Mary Anne branch out and find another activity she was passionate about, and make more non-BSC friends. I would like SOMEONE to become really good friends with Emily Bernstein because I love her. I definitely would have liked to see a Latina or Muslim sitter or at least family. (I've just started collecting the California Diaries, and I totally love Amalia, partly because she's so positive compared to the onslaught of angst in the other books). And definitely a gay character, or one who is questioning his or her sexuality. (Possibly the classic "My boyfriend is gay!" plot--or maybe that's only classic in my circles.) I would also be interested in a story where the BSC members take opposite sides on an issue (not something dumb like School Spirit Month) and have to deal with being friends with people who believe radically different things. I think it would have been fun to have a sitter who was kind of a computer geek, or a really obsessive music collector. (Anna and Shannon play, but I mean kind of like Lane on Gilmore Girls). I just would have liked to see more Mallory at Riverbend as she became more confident. I would have liked to see Jessi deal with racism in a more subtle way. I also would have liked to see her deal with NOT getting a lead in a ballet, or struggling just a little when she goes through puberty. Maybe having more serious friendships with the girls in her classes. I would have liked to see Claudia consider applying for or attending an arts high school (Stoneybrook has everything else; there must be one around there!). I very much like that through the series we see her bond with Janine a little bit more, and I wanted more of that. Maybe a story where Claudia visits Janine at college and both sees Janine as popular and well-liked among her friends, and realizes how she's cutting off opportunities by not applying herself to school. (Over in the "who will lose their virginity first" thread, I keep thinking that the Janine/Claudia comparisons would eventually become "Claudia and Janine are sisters, but they couldn't be more different. Janine's a genius who loves school, while Claudia is an artistic genius, even if she doesn't get good grades. She wears totally dibble outfits like bright pink overalls over an orange shirt, with high heels and a feather boa and earrings shaped like monkeys, whereas Janine wears plain skirts, sweaters and flats. Also, Janine is still a virgin, but Claudia had sex with this extremely chilly guy who was an artist, too. Sadly, he turned out to live in an isolated village without phone service or a post office, but Claudia still LUVs him. Maybe someday we'll all go visit him!" I'm mean.) I would have liked to see Kristy in a situation where to use her leadership skills, she can't just boss people around. She does have a lot of natural leadership ability, but I'd like to see her have to admit to some of her weaknesses about it. I would have liked to see more of her relationship with her older brothers as well. I would have liked to see a big rock fall on Dawn's head. (I kid, but I thought I might like her better in CD. No.)
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Penny Lane
Sitting For The Arnolds
The Girl With Colitis Goes By
Posts: 2,888
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Post by Penny Lane on Jan 6, 2008 15:43:47 GMT -5
^I agree with all of this. (except Dawn. I love Dawn).
I would love to see the sitters have actual different opinions on things -- when I was 13, I knew where I stood on many, many different political and social issues. Some of these were radically different from my friends, and sometimes we couldn't "make it work" or look past our different opinions. I think it would be really interesting to see what the sitters come up with - do they just not talk about these things, or do they agree to disagree? It's something that could really shake up the club.
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Post by liss31d on Jan 7, 2008 8:06:57 GMT -5
Did Ann ever touch on homosexuality? Ann slightly touched on homosexuality in the California Diaries. There are a lot of hints that the character, Ducky could be gay... but unfortunately this was not resolved as the series finished at the same time as the BSC did... he was a very confused person.
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Post by otempora541 on Nov 24, 2008 10:52:22 GMT -5
I said it once and I'll say it again: 131 should have been a Kristy book, not an MA book. Or at least have 132 be a Kristy book.
I would love Jessi to go to a Fame type high school (M22 she expresses intrest, so it's a possability). Mallory needed to have a follow up to 125, about becoming the girl she could be in Riverband. Claudia could end up getting the help she needs and be a somewhat succesful student. Dawn needs to come back to CT (I always read that after CD15 they kinda went their seperate ways). Stacey outgrowing the need for luv from older boys. Abby and her crazy family drama. MA and a guy who is not Logan, and is portrait as a realistic 13 year old. Kristy dealing with the BSC falling apart.
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Post by booboobrewer on Nov 24, 2008 11:29:58 GMT -5
Abby: To find out her father is not dead. This isn't As the BSC Turns.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2008 23:48:40 GMT -5
-I would have liked to see more of Mimi and Claudia's relationship. This would have meant that the stroke may have come in the 30s; I'm putting "Claudia and the Sad Goodbye" in the mid-50s. -Another "gap" thing-I would have liked to see Stacey stay in New York longer than she did. AMM/Scholastic could have used the intervening books to develop the junior officer's characters a bit more (especially Jessi's). -I don't feel Richard and Sharon should have been married. at all. I almost feel like their daughters kind of pushed them into it. A more realistic storyline would have been Sharon saying, "I know I had a relationship with Richard in high school, but neither of us are the people we used to be", etc.
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Post by laylaandmixup13 on Nov 21, 2012 19:21:55 GMT -5
I think that they should have switched the general plotlines of 26 and 85. Then we could have had Mimi around for longer and an Ashley Wyeth plot before we forgot about her in the next 80 books. I would like to see a BSC applying to University. Kristy would get Waitlisted for an Ivy League Sports scholarship and freak out then eventually be accepted. Mary Anne's could be about her fear of leaving home and branching out. Then in the end she'll decide it's a big step but she can do it. Claudia will have a kerffufle with her parents because they want her to go to college and she wants to go to arts school. Eventually her parents will agree. Stacey: NYU nuff said Dawn: USC Not so sure about the others I guess applications are on my mind lol
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starrynight
Sitting For The Kuhns
The Royal Diner of Pizza Express
Posts: 4,004
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Post by starrynight on Nov 24, 2012 16:27:25 GMT -5
I'd like to see Mary Anne continue the progress that she was making towards becoming her own person in the FF books. I think she has it in her to stop being quite so sensitive, and to develop more confidence in herself and her decisions. Changes like that could have led to some interesting conflicts with people who would prefer that she stay in her box!
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