HD&L's parents; la-dee-dah

Elaine Ramshaw elaine1 at snet.net
Fri Oct 10 04:54:16 CEST 2008


Glad to hear that some of you like my godson's idea of Parents in Space; I
will pass your reactions on to him! And I should credit him by name--his
name is David Williams. The "save the world" aspect of the plot was only
there because there would have to be some Really Good Reason to get parents
to leave their kids for years on end. If they are saving/protecting the
planet, they are really doing what is best also for their own children!
Perhaps, for some combination of reasons, they were the best possible
ambassadors to an alien race that was debating how to encounter us. 

And on the matter of the Really Good Reason....Olaf, clearly the Tralla La
idea would have depended on working out a plot to get the parents there and
keep them there (perhaps longer than originally intended). Not just a
vacation, or a move to a happier place that unfortunately required them to
dump the offspring! And then, if they are still alive when HD&L find out
what became of them, you'd have to figure out what would happen then. 

Rosa wrote on DCML in June 2001 (in response to a question from Olaf, in
fact, asking if Rosa was indeed going to write a story on the kids' father)
that "the problem is that there's no possible happy ending, not that I have
thus far been able to figure out.
 
Ending 1: HD&L seek their parents and find them, and go to live with them
rather than Unca Donald? No.
 
Ending B: HD&L seek their parents and find them, and DON'T go to live with
them? No, that's sad.
 
Ending III: HD&L seek their parents and find out they're dead?! Nonono!

Ending four: HD&L seek their parents and don't find them. Eh. Wuzza point?

So, once I figure out that 5th possible ending, I'll go full steam ahead.
Well, I've had one idea in my head for 10 years now... But it's a bit
contrived and I'm not sure I like it. There's probably a better notion
floatin' around out there..."

Perhaps when he put the hint in the draft of "Return to Xanadu", Rosa had an
idea for a plot that would both explain what had brought the parents to
Tralla La in the first place and provide a fifth and more satisfactory
ending. 

On "lahdee dah," I have only one thing to add to Leo Schulte's explanation.
Rosa is fond of references to movies, and in "Annie Hall" Diane Keaton says
"Well, la-dee-da."

Elaine




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