A short week in Oakdale as we watch some give thanks and others get themselves in more trouble: Brad, Dusty, Paul and Luke. We have to wait a few days to find out what happens next: Will Luke tell the truth about Brian, will Brad find Spencer and why did she do this, will Carly try to stop Jack from marrying Janet and will Josie give up Paul for love with Dusty. There is much happening in Oakdale right now and with Craig appearing next week, things are about to take off.

Lucinda's New Husband
Who is this man that Lucinda married? What do we really know about Brian Wheatley? He comes into town to run Luke's foundation, marries the richest woman in town then kisses her grandson - what a mess. What is Lucinda going to do when she finds out about this? She has married the wrong man before - James Stenbeck. She is going to be a broken woman as she has just had her second mastectomy, feeling she is a useless woman and then this younger man wants her making her feel good under the circumstances. I shutter to think what is going to happen when the truth about this gets to Lily, Holden and Noah.

Luke has other problems as well as he is now drinking again and that is not good for his health. Is this how he will handle breakups in the future? Luke used to be pretty forthright so why is he keeping this secret about Brian from everyone. With the way he is drinking, it is just a matter of time before he blurts it out anyway. Actually, I am finding Luke more interesting drunk than sober - he just says anything like when he told off Casey and Alison recently.

Brad Fights to Save Himself
Haven't Brad and Katie learned it was best just to let the police handle these investigations? Oh wait, we are talking about the Oakdale PD and how many crimes have they solved recently? Well, Brad and Katie do not have jobs anyway right now so why not chase leads to clear his name. I will say that Dani is deeply involved in this - whatever it is. I have not trusted her since she came back to Oakdale - she was too pushy in addition to being very different than the Danielle Andropoulos, Betsy and Steve's little girl, we saw grow up.

At least, we get to see the antics of Henry and Vienna on a regular basis as they are very involved in this. Who is the mastermind behind this fake murder? Last column, I didn't care and this time I am mildly curious about how this all came about.

Josie, Paul and Dusty
The curls are gone and she looks so much like Jennifer Munson Donovan that I am feeling a connection - just kidding. How could Dusty believe this woman has some connection to his dead wife? Dusty has never been dumb but this story is making him look like a real gullible man gasping for something to keep him close to a wife he has barely mentioned until about a month ago. I am going to go along with the writing and assume he has missed his wife all this time.

Paul is certifiable - why can't Meg have Dusty as a friend? Paul is being terribly paranoid to think that his wife would fall for Dusty when she truly loves him. Has he been going to his appointments with Dr. Michaels or this another lie he has told Meg? I was wrong because I surely thought this was a plot of Craig's so I was very surprised when it was revealed to be Paul. Now Emily knows; so how long will it be before she tells Dusty to get Josie out of the way? Dusty will find out very soon and Josie will be history.

Carly, Jack and Janet
Will Jack and Janet make it to the altar on New Year's Eve? I am going to say - no. When they announced their wedding date, the look on Carly's face said it all; she will not let Jack marry Janet even though she turned down his reconciliation offer recently. She can't handle the fact that Jack will be with another woman and definitely not Janet.

I do believe that she will have a real fight on her hands with Janet - Janet will fight her hard for Jack as she has given her ample chances to get Jack back. Those longing looks between Jack and Carly are just setting the stage for a major development between them before the wedding like the night before; hey, that's how things happen in Oakdale right now.

Here are some comments from readers:

Vivien said, "I gave up on ATWT about six months ago after practically living in Oakdale for more than 30 years. I still follow the recaps, but find myself shaking my head. I'm missing nothing. Paul and Meg are still hogging the screen; Carly and Jack are still tugging at the points of some new triangle; and Emily has been married and divorced...again. Oh, and all the older characters face recurring health crises."

Michelle said, "I try so hard to watch this show and accept this is the same show I have watched since the late '80s. There is nothing new and the stories move so fast that they lose the dramatic effect. I try to hang in there because I hope things will get better but I don't how much longer I am going to be able to do that."

Carolyn said, "I hope Jack marries Janet - he needs to get away from Carly. It's time for him to move on and get his daughter in line as well. Sage is easily becoming Carly's daughter with the schemes and lies."

Finally, it was nice to see a traditional Snyder Thanksgiving with calls from most of Emma's kids: Iva, Seth and Ellie - she even mentioned MJ, Iva and John's son. It would be nice to see some of these characters again though there have been too many recasts and dramatic changes in personalities for characters we have loved when they reappear. I'll just savor these small moments like the ones we got this week.

That's all I have for now.
Reggie Jackson