Adventures in Odyssey Home Page

The Other Woman

Album: 28: Welcome Home

Episode: 368

Lesson/Theme: The danger of spreading rumors; dealing with the mentally ill.

Bible Verse: Proverbs 16:28; 1 Peter 3:12

Characters: Bart, Eugene, Whit, Tom

Writer: Paul McCusker

Sound Designer:

Original Air Date: November 30, 1996

Last Air Date: June 22, 2009

Description:
News flash! Tom Riley stuns Odyssey by insinuating that he may not seek re-election! He tells Dale Jacobs that he really would like to get back to the peace and quiet of his farm, which creates a media firestorm. Unfortunately, Bart Rathbone is listening to the television report on Tom, and it gives Bart the idea that he should run for mayor again. Bart’s wife, Doris, and Rodney think Bart’s nuts. They say no one would ever vote for Bart. But Bart still thinks he has a real chance, as long as Tom doesn’t run again. So Bart tells Doris and Rodney it’s their job to make sure Tom doesn’t run again. That opportunity presents itself a few days later when Doris and Rodney see Tom driving and decide to follow him. They all end up at a place called Hillingdale Haven, where Doris and Rodney take pictures of Tom sitting and holding hands with a blonde woman! Rodney is certain that Tom’s wife isn’t blonde and deduces that they have a major scandal on their hands. Doris and Rodney take the pictures back to Bart, who gives them to a new rag sheet tabloid newspaper called the 'Odyssey Tattler'. The editor of the 'Tattler' surmises that the pictures were taken at Hillingdale Haven Hospital, a mental health facility! He readily prints the pictures, setting off a media frenzy. But it ends up that the story is much less scandalous than it appears. The woman is Tom’s wife, Agnes. She has manic depression and must frequently stay at Hillingdale Haven. Tom calls a press conference to tell everyone this, and to add that he officially won’t seek re-election as mayor. Later, at Whit’s End, Whit and Eugene discuss Tom’s decision. Eugene wonders why Tom never mentioned Agnes’s problem to the church so they could pray for her. Whit says Tom did at first, but when Agnes didn’t get better, he stopped. He says many Christians have trouble with unanswered prayer. And the only thing to do is to keep praying for people like Tom and Agnes.

Questions:
Why did Tom keep his wife’s illness quiet? Should he have? Why or why not? Why do you think God heals some people and doesn’t heal others? Whit told Eugene that “Christians who can’t cope are poor advertising.” What did he mean by that?