I FOUND IT!!!

Okay, when I was very, very young, I used to watch those After School Specials. Back in the 70's, they dealt with very racy subjects like hitchhiking (Michelle Green from LA Law), angel dust (Helen Hunt jumps out of a window), boozy parents, swingers, death, and alcohol in a very kitschy, overly-dramatic way. They were GOOD, right??!!

So, there was one episode that really tore me up. I mean, I still think about it to this day. Obsession in the purest sense.

The problem was, I couldn't for the life of me FIND IT. All I knew (or thought I knew) was that Jane Krakowski from 30 Rock was in it. WRONG!!

So I'm hogging the computer and perusing YouTube tonight, puting in key words like "Jane" and "Horse after school special" and "bumps head on tree". I've done this often, in my quest for this episode. I was SO FREAKIN OFF it's amazing, but I actually, finally found it.

The name of it is (okay, get this.....) "Beat The Turtle Drum". WTF??? The title comes from a book it was based on, but still.....okay, whatever. At least I found it.

Jane Krakowski was not in it, but guess who was? Melissa Sue Anderson!! Oh yeah! Blind Mary from Little House On The Prairie. One of my all-time, favorite shows. Eva. Don't be hatin' - it's the shizz.

But I digress.

The crux of the story is, Blind Mary, being an older sister, wants to grant the birthday wish of her younger sister of getting her a horse. (This is where my "horse" remembrance comes in) They rent a horse for a week, the little sister is all happy and cute.

THEN.....the little sister falls out of the treehouse and dies. DIES!

So, my little 6-yr old peabrain remembers a horse, a blond girl riding said horse, said blond girl hitting her head and dying, and somehow, somewhere, there is a tree involved.

Hey, I was close. Kinda.

In any case, I am finally free of this mystery. I feel like a huge load has been lifted. 30 years I've been searching. Ahhhh...sweet relief.

And guess what? It's available through Netflix (isn't everything?). So, I have just moved this After School Special (1976-1977) up to #1 on my Netflix queue.

Aww yeah. Party at my house later this week. I'll have the Jiffy Pop, Fig Newtons and Tab at the ready.