I'll Be Waving as You Drive Away 2/10

The next morning, Charles arrives at the mill where Jonathan and Mr. Hanson seem a little despondent. Charles asks what the problem is and Mr. Hanson reports that the railroads are starting a war with the grangers. The trains are refusing to carry grain and not making any stops in Hero Township, which is bad news if you run a feed and seed business. Or a mercantile. Or a...well, I guess that's all the industry in Walnut Grove at this point. "You can't beat the railroads unless they want you to beat 'em," Mr. Hanson says in disgust. I think that was the third place entry in the Trustbuster Slogan contest, right after "Give 'em Hell, Tarbell" and "Colbert".

After dinner at the homestead, Charles is pacing while reading the newspaper. He rehashes the story for Caroline who asks if what the railroad is doing is legal. Charles gives the most accurate answer: "Legal or not, they're doing it." He says the grange is going to sue the railroad, which kicks Caroline's optimism into high gear. As they chat, Mary is trying to read a book with her nose about two inches from the table. Charles pushes the lamp towards her, but it doesn't help all that much. After Ma and Pa finish their conversation, he notices that Mary is still struggling with the book. She blames her trouble on shadows on the pages. Caroline asks if those are the new glasses and Mary says they are but not much better than her old ones. Charles says he thought they were okay and Mary says they were...at first. Caroline rolls her eyes that a new prescription would be that far off, but Charles says that Mary can go back to the eye doctor and get this resolved. A baby starts crying and Caroline goes to check on it.

At Doctor Burke's office, the eye doctor is taking an even closer look at Mary's eyes. He casually mentions that he had a sore throat last week, so it is a good thing Mary didn't come in. I didn't realize awkward conversation during an eye exam was a time-honored tradition. He clears his throat a couple of times as he looks at Mary's file. He asks if she has had any bad illnesses recently. "I had an operation once," she replies. "It was awful. Worse than when I had scarlet fever." This causes the doctor to perk up. Apparently the scarlet fever didn't make it onto the chart. Mary Ingalls sucks at providing thorough medical histories. She asks about her eyes and Doctor Burke hems and haws a bit before asking Mary to fetch her Pa.

Mary waits in the lobby as Charles enters the office. He takes a seat as Burke semi-admonishes Charles about holding back on the scarlet fever info. The doctor asks how bad it was and Pa is like "uh, scarlet-y? How bad does it have to be?" Burke informs Charles that the fever damaged Mary's nerves in the eye to the point that they won't recover. In fact, Mary is going blind. Charles is understandably stunned by the news. The doc also informs Pa that there is no treatment or medicine available. Charles tries to cling to some form of hope that something can be done, but Burke says it will have to be a miracle and he is fresh out of them. With hope no longer an option, Charles begins to cling to denial. He proposes that it is just extreme eye strain, but Burke shoots him down saying that rest may only delay the inevitable. Charles starts to sob as Burke continues to explain the reality of the situation. The doctor then heads to the desk to retrieve a reading glass that might be useful for the time being.

After Charles composes himself, he tells the doctor "you're wrong" and heads out the door. He paints a smile on his face as he rejoins his daughter. Mary asks what the doctor said and Charles replies "nothing important." Uh, there are times when it is okay to tell your kid a little white lie but I really don't think impending blindness qualifies as one of them. She asks about new glasses and Pa tries to sell her on the reading glass. Mary looks a little baffled at this solution. Meanwhile, Doctor Burke walks into frame and I'm waiting for him to admonish Charles for not being at all truthful in this conversation. Charles and Mary leave before the doctor can say anything.