Why would Ann choose these 3 things to show Julie and Barbara that Ed had been a good father to them? Weren't they feeling bad enough? Those 3 things aren't very pleasant things. If Ed did some crying it would have been for something bad, like if Julie or Barbara got hurt or something. Ed praying a lot is not necessarily because of something bad but still. And the spanking part? Ann wants them to remember the times Ed spanked them?? If they were already feeling bad and were mad at Ed, why would Ann want them to recall times when he busted their butts? Ed spanking them is obviously not something they are going to look back on fondly. Why would Ann choose these 3 things to tell them, especially the spanking part?

I disagree with you. I think those three things prove what a good father Ed was. The fact that he cried shows he was attatched to his daughters on an emotional level as every good parent should be. The fact that he prayed showed he provided spiritual leadership to his family, something the Bible requires of all fathers. And the fact that he spanked his daughters shows that he loved them enough to want them to know the difference between right and wrong and to grow up to be good citizens. Actually Ed reminds me a lot of my father!

i liked ed 100 times better than that bigmouth loser sam royer that ann ended up marrying later

In case some of you don't know what scene I'm refering to, here it is from youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4eXkPpszok

i liked ed 100 times better than that bigmouth loser sam royer that ann ended up marrying later
I agree. I liked Howard Hesseman on WKRP and Head of the Class but he was awful on this show.