In my last thread, I mentioned Katie's optimism about getting asked out by the handsome boy from the protest in "Samantha's Protest". I compared it to the optimism expressed by Cindy Brady in the "Brady Bunch" episode called the "Snooperstar". In both cases, justice was served to the girl who acted inappropriately. Another thing that I thought was interesting was that both episodes took place shortly after a little boy was added to the cast of each show. Well, in between the time that I started this thread and the present moment, I went over to You Tube and watched some videos. In the suggestion bar was one regarding "Matchbox" cars included in McDonald's Happy Meals. This made me think of yet another case of unrealistic optimism!

Sometime in the eighties, McDonald's started a promotion in which if you pay a small amount more after you buy your meal, you get a little toy car for your child. At the start of the commercial, the man of the house comes in the front door with a McDonald's bag in his hand. He asks his wife to guess what he brought home. She hypothesizes that he had a burger, fries and a soda. He told her that he also bought of Corvet! She was in a state of disbelief during the few seconds that it took for him to take the toy out of the bag. At which point the narrator explained to the audience the whole situation about the toy that you can buy for only a small amount over the price of your meal. We then return to the man in the kitchen who says that he thinks that the next day he will buy the Jeep. His preteen son who is throwing a football from one hand to another says "Dad's buying a Jeep"! I would say that the circumstances in which he is salivating while delivering this line is very similar to the circumstances in which Katie is salivating when she hears Samantha say that the handsome boy from the protest never thought that he would meet a girl who he wanted to date in jail. Some folks will never learn!