I heard that Tracey Gold was on Larry King to talk about her DUI arrest. I missed the show, but I found the transcript on-line and read it. I thought it was very good. I read some other posts on this subject (the DUI arrest) and I, like others, was initially angry, asking, "What was she thinking?" I was a big fan of Growing Pains in the 80s, and all I really know of Tracey is from that TV show. I guess it's typical to percieve the actress to be like her character, so I guess I always thought Tracey Gold was kinda' like Carol . . . responsible, smart, etc. This is why I was so suprised to hear about Tracey's arrest. You'd expect to hear about that kind of behavior from Charlie Sheen or Bobby Brown, but not Tracey Gold. However, after reading her comments on Larry King, I must say I am very proud of her. I've been a cop for about five years and have dealt with many intoxicated driver's and DUI related accidents. I can't stand drunk drivers, and I for one, can say I have seen first hand the terrible effects of their decisions to drive. It is also very typical of drunk drivers to not take any responsibility for their actions. Their mindset is usually, "Why are you cops harassing me? I'll have your badge!" However, we all make mistakes. It's like the old saying, "He who does not learn from his mistakes is doomed to repeat them." It was very nice and refreshing to hear Tracey take responsibility for her mistake. I believe her when she says she is not an alcoholic and that she will never drink and drive again. I think she just made a bad decision like we all have. Rather than make excuses or blame others, she took responsibility and is doing the right thing, despite what the consequences may be. Additionally, she has, on her own initiative, spoken to the public about her mistake and the dangers of drinking and driving. She also, according to the transcript I read, really endorsed MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers). She has not used her celebrity to try and evade the charges against her, but instead has taken full responsibility for her actions. This, in my opinion, is very admirable and others could learn a lot from her handling of this situation.

I agree. I think that she was really brave to admit she was wrong and that she made a bad decision that night. She didn't try to make excuses. And I think it is unfair that she has to take responsability for wat she did and her husband will not be punished. He was more irresponsable than her that night.

Really, the responsibility lies with Tracey because she ultimately chose to drive . . . no one forced her. I am also sure her husband feels terrible about the incident and from the transcript I read, it sounds like he has taken some personal responsibility. Legally, I don't think he could be considered a complicitor, but emotionally, I bet he and Tracey both have put themselves through mental hell because of the guilt associated with this instance. Still, it is very typical for celebrities to try and use their status to get some type of prefrential treatment (anyone remember that guy, O.J. Simpson? Or how about Michael Jackson?). Based on what I read of Tracey's interview with Larry King, it sounds like she and her husband are making genuine efforts to make ammends and do what is right. That takes guts in light of the charges she's facing, and I can respect that. I was also very pleased about her comments related to the treatment she's recieved by the Ventura County Sheriff's Office and the district attorney's office. Again, it is typical for celebrities, when they are held accountable by authorities, to attack the cops and accuse the cops of misconduct (anyone remember Zsa Zsa Gabbor? When Michael Jackson was arrested a year or so ago, didn't he accuse the cops of hitting him or putting on the handcuffs too tight?). Tracey was sure to mention that she recieved very fair treatment from law enforcement and the prosecution, which in my experience, is the attitude of a humble, repentant person who is willing to admit a mistake and then take action to correct it. Whatever your opinion on this issue, Tracey is still being held accountable for her poor decision by the justice system, and her willingness to humbly and respectfully cooperate with this process is comendable. Other celebrities who think they are above the law should take note. Furthermore, many may not consider the drawback Tracey and her family face from the court of public opinion. The court of public opinion is often much harsher than a sentence handed down by a court of law. Due to her celebrity status, this aspect of the case is magnified. I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't want their every move and action closely watched and scrutinized by the media. Anyway, something else I wanted to briefly mention about the Larry King interview was the Growing Pains episode with Matthew Perry where he was killed drinking and driving. Tracey said she hadn't thought about that episode initially. What!? When I heard about her DUI arrest, that episode was one of the first things I thought about, but I couldn't remember who her boyfriend was in the episode. What sticks out to me about that episode was that Tracey was really able to showcase her acting talents, especially at the end when Mike (was it Mike?) told her her boyfriend was dead. It sent a powerful message. I was in junior high (or maybe high school) at the time, and I remember classmates of mine talking about it the next day. That was back when local TV stations did things like "Alive to Strive," and they'd come to your school and talk about the dangers of drinking and driving and show us pictures of people in coffins and smashed up cars. Ha! God bless the 80s! Anyone else remember that episode?

I agree she's being brave to publicly admit what she did. I think any time a celebrity discusses their personal stuff in the media they can expect that some people will be really negative about them no matter how much they apologize or admit they were wrong.

I did remember the drunk driving episode, but not until a couple weeks after Tracey had been arrested, and even now I still don't remember a lot about that episode, and I don't remember people at school talking about it or anything. I'm not really surprised Tracey didn't remember it at first, though. She's memorized a LOT of scripts in her career.

Looking back, I do think its cool that shows like GP used to try to address teenage issues that would be relevant to the largest part of their audience. One thing that was nice about GP, though, is that they touched on a lot of stuff but usually didn't let an entire episode get too serious. It seems like they always remembered it was just a sitcom and they always joked around a little even in the serious episodes.

What I think is kinda funny now is there was a line in Return of the Seavers where the lady who was going to buy the house says to Maggie "You should be arrested for child endangerment!", and in the first reunion Ben invites Mike's kids to go out for cheeseburgers with him then runs his van off the road. (The kids didn't actually go with Ben, but isn't it weird that those two things happened in teh reunions and then Tracey did what she did?) :crazy: