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40 years later, people have a very different opinion on how 'Pretty in Pink' should have ended

It's not all about Duckie.

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Some still ponder Duckie or Blane.

What about prom, Blane? That was a very serious question in 1986 and it still stands today. What…about…prom? Of course, this riveting line (beautifully delivered with pure teenage angst by Molly Ringwald's Andie to Andrew McCarthy's Blane) is from the 80s teen dramedy Pretty in Pink. Written by John Hughes, the king of Gen X cinema (even though he, himself, was a Boomer) and directed by Howard Deutch, this movie had everything: hats, Annie Potts and yes, Duckie.

As we get closer to the 40th anniversary of its release, some still argue about that ending. Spoilers ahead. To sum up the plot: Andie, a senior in an affluent Illinois high school, was best friends with a funny oddball called Duckie, played by Jon Cryer. They both lived on the proverbial "wrong side of the tracks," so when popular hottie Blane took an interest in her, she fell hard.

(Note: Blane's library computer trick before there were barely computers was the love bomb of all love bombs.)

  A scene from the film Pretty in Pink.  www.youtube.com, David Gibson, Paramount Pictures 

Against all odds, they fall in love and Duckie is super jealous. Blane asks Andie to prom but then succumbs to peer pressure (mainly from his friend Steff, played villainously by James Spader) and breaks it off. Andie won't be defeated so she sews together material her sweet dad (Harry Dean Stanton) finds for her and makes the ugliest prom dress of all time. She goes to the prom with Duckie, and when Blane sees the ugly prom dress, he changes his mind and professes his love. They kiss in the rain. (Note: The dress was so awful, Molly Ringwald herself has discussed it, openly.)

 James Spader, Pretty in Pink, 80s, movies James Spader in Pretty in Pink.  Giphy Paramount Pictures 

That's pretty much it. When I saw this as a tween, I cried and wondered where my Blane was. As Andie entered the dance hall with OMD's "If You Leave" underscoring her anxiety, I felt every centimeter of her heartbeat. And when Blane told her he loved her, none of my friends ever once questioned that THEY should be together.

It was the 80s, after all, and it was a true teen love story. But, as many now know, it wasn't supposed to end that way. Originally, Andie DID choose Duckie, but when they showed it to a test audience, they hated it so much that the whole cast had to come in for reshoots.

  - YouTube  www.youtube.com  

As years went on, some changed their minds and came to Duckie's defense. That's who she should have chosen, many said - the best friend with a heart of gold. But not so fast, says a somewhat recent Reddit post. In the subreddit r/80s, someone asked, "Should Andie have ended up with Duckie?"

The answers are thoughtful and somewhat surprising. Many on the thread think the reshoot got it right. The idea that she would be pestered into winding up with the guy she wasn't attracted to upset some commenters. "This is what it comes down to for me. You can’t force attraction, and she did not like him like that."

Another shares, "Duckie was weird, she was totally out of his league, and she had goals and aspirations in life. He didn't appear to have a job or any future prospects for goals in his life. Things still turned out great for him though. Duckie ended up with 'Duckette' Kristy Swanson."

 duckie, jon cryer, kristy swanson, pretty in pink movie Duckie gets chosen in Pretty in Pink.  Giphy  

One person notably points out that had Robert Downey Jr. taken the role of Duckie, there might have been more chemistry. "Nice to see that even a big actor like John Cryer can get friend-zoned. Also interesting to think that had RDJ been cast as planned as Ducky (sic) the original ending may have been left."

And this Redditor went all in: "I will defend her decision to go with Blane to the end. I don't know how anyone else's high school worked but in mine if one of the Chosen Ones/In Crowd picked someone like Andie to date, there's no way in hell that the Andie-like person would choose Duckie over the Chosen Ones/In Crowd person. It just wouldn't happen, not in that era anyway. Of course there could be & were exceptions, but if you were one of the Unwashed Masses & someone from the Cool Clique showed you interest you'd totally ditch the Unwashed Masses for the Cool Kids."

 Molly Ringwald, prom dress, Pretty in pink, movies, John Hughes Molly Ringwald in her Pretty in Pink prom dress.  Giphy Paramount Pictures 

Of course, there's the point of view that she should/could have chosen neither of those two. "Neither one. Duckie wasn’t her type and Blane was a sh---y person. He can say 'I always believed in you' but that is horse crap."

Regardless of who she should have chosen, perhaps we can all agree that Blane is not a name - it's an appliance.

@johnhughesmovies

BLANE? HIS NAME IS BLANE? That's a major appliance, that's not a name! 😭 #prettyinpink #duckie #prettyinpinkmovie #johnhughesmovie #johnhughes #mollyringwald

 
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Stranger raises $180k for Burger King employee after he works shift still in graduation gear

He cried when he found out the fundraiser reached $6,000.

Mykale Baker GoFundMe

Stranger raises $180k for student working at Burger King

It's not uncommon for high school kids to work fast food jobs after school and on the weekends. Typically, when a student works while still attending high school, they usually take days off for special occasions like homecoming, prom, athletic obligations, and graduation. One student, Mykale Baker, took time off for his high school graduation but decided to head into work while still wearing his medals and graduation stole.

The sight of a clearly recent graduate working the grill at Burger King moved Maria Mendoza, who shared a short clip expressing pride for the teen's work ethic on social media. After some prompting from people who saw the video, she created a GoFundMe to help the hard-working teen pay for college. There were a couple of problems with the plan: Mendoza didn't know the teen personally, she hadn't spoken to him, and thus she wasn't sure if he was even planning to go to college.

Burger King; high school graduation; Mykale Baker GoFundMe; GoFundMe; paying for college; college; kindness of strangersMykale Baker working after graduation.Mykale Baker GoFundMe

That didn't stop the stranger from doing what she could to make sure she helped the new graduate. Mendoza started the GoFundMe and it quickly surpassed it's $5,000 goal so she went back to Burger King a few days later to find the teen and show him how much people donated. At the time, the Georgia teen and his mother were brought to tears at the generosity; the campaign was sitting at just above $6,000 then.

Baker admitted to 11 Alive he wasn't sure what he was going to do after high school due to the lack of funds, but he was contemplating going into a trade. The story has since gone viral, which has resulted in even more donations surpassing the updated goal of $60k in just over a week. It is currently sitting at $187k with more donations pouring in by the minute.

Burger King; high school graduation; Mykale Baker GoFundMe; GoFundMe; paying for college; college; kindness of strangersMykale Baker and Maria Mendoza smilingMykale Baker GoFundMe

Mendoza writes in the fundraiser description, "While many graduates spent the night celebrating with friends and family, one young man quietly showed the world what determination looks like. Just after receiving his diploma—still proudly wearing his medals—he reported to his shift at Burger King. He didn’t do it for attention. He doesn’t even know his story went viral. But thousands of people were moved by his dedication, humility, and work ethic."

The woman attended the high school graduation to see her daughter graduate and like many others, she stopped to get a bite to eat after the ceremony, which is where she spotted Baker. Turns out that the graduate wasn't even scheduled to work. He noticed the late night rush of customers after graduation and wanted to help his work family out by hopping behind the counter to clear the influx of orders. As for how he feels about the kindness he's been shown, he's thankful.

“I just want to say thank you to my parents and all the people that see the good in me and believe in me, and donated all that money to me,” Baker tells 11 Alive.

People who donated left encouraging words and kind wishes for his future with one person writing, "Mykale, Your work ethic and grind is contagious. We are rooting for you and investing in your future. You already have a strong foundation to succeed. I hope you take this opportunity to pursue higher education in a career that will bring you joy and a generous salary. -First Generation College Grad from Fresno, California."

"Congratulations, Mykale! You’re the true inspiration of hard work and dedication. Wishing you a life filled with endless blessings," another says.

Burger King; high school graduation; Mykale Baker GoFundMe; GoFundMe; paying for college; college; kindness of strangersMykale Baker in cap and gownMykale Baker GoFundMe

"What an incredible young man! I am so proud of you and your accomplishments. Hard working and intelligent and kind. May God continue blessing you. You have a bright future ahead. The sky is the limit. Don't settle for anything less than you deserve. Congrats on graduating high school! Good luck to you young king. Your parents must be so proud. They did an outstanding job with you!" someone else shares.

One person shares advice, "I’m proud of you Mykale. There will always be needs around you … and it’s not uncommon that when people get a little money one of two things happen; first, people with needs show up, and second, people may treat you with contempt rather than celebrate with you. Just take these funds and accelerate your future. You already have the drive — just don’t let the critics pull you down at this pivotal moment. You’re going places my friend and I hope to be able to see what God does in your life."

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High schoolers lead grassroots movement to restore 500 veteran graves in honor of Memorial Day


"Such a great tribute to the service members who gave their lives!"

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High school students restore veteran graves for Memorial Day.

Memorial Day is America's holiday to honor the brave men and women who lost their lives serving in the military. And one group of high schoolers in Cheektowaga, New York, located in the western part of the state, is doing their part to make sure the fallen veterans are recognized on the special holiday.

In honor of Memorial Day weekend, a group of high school students and community volunteers gathered to restore and raise veteran grave markers at Mount Calvary Cemetery.

Led by community member Paul Mueller, it is the second year the group has come together. "High school students uncovered and raised about 500 forgotten veteran grave markers at Mount Calvary Cemetery for Memorial Day!" news station WKBW captioned the video.

"You know, a lot of these people sacrificed so much. To see the memorials and not even be able to see the names on them, it's kind of depressing," one high school student shared with WKBW.

Mueller became inspired to lead the project for very personal reasons. "My dad is buried over here. He's a World War II vet, and I'd come out here every Father's Day. And I would notice that his headstone had sunk into the ground. And I'd bring a little bucket of stone with me and raise it up," he shared.

He continued, "I started looking around and seeing that there's a lot of other stones that are going down, down, down. And they don't have any family members that could come here with a bucket and raise it up. So I got in touch with cemetery, offered our services."

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Mueller added, "To see these young kids giving back, they're reading the names on the stones. It's really great." Another student also shared, "It will be kind of cool to walk by and be able to say, 'I helped do that'."

In an interview with WIVBTV, Mueller also explained, "Many of us aren’t veterans, so this is our way of giving back to our country and to our veterans."

Army veteran Mitch Mayor, a volunteer with the group, told WIVBTV, "It just makes me feel good that I’m able, in my very small way, to give back to honor these ladies and gentlemen who served this great country of ours."

- YouTubeLearn more about the History of Memorial Day. #HistoryChannel Subscribe for more HISTORY: http://histv.co/SubscribeHistoryYT ...

There are over 2,000 veteran graves in the cemetery, and the group's goal is to restore all of them. Mueller shared that last year, the group restored a total of 900 graves. "Our goal this year is actually to finish this. We’ll be coming back hopefully one more time and we’ll be up to the 2,000 range," he said.

And many viewers were touched by the volunteer efforts made by all. "It’s important to remember them forever they sacrificed so much for all of us," one wrote. Another commented, "Such a great tribute to the service members who gave their lives!
Thanks!❤️❤️❤️"Another shared, "This is such a life experience for these kids to grow with!" And another also added, "Wonderful for these students to do this."

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107-year-old WWII veteran gets his diploma 93 years after dropping out of high school

"It's a wonderful thing to graduate."

KTIV News 4/YouTube

107-year-old WWII veteran Orville Von Ehwegen receives honorary high school diploma.

Orville Von Ehwegen is proving that it's never too late to give up on your dreams. At 107 years old, he finally received his honorary high school diploma from East Sac County High School in Lake View, Iowa. He was honored during the high school's graduation ceremony on Sunday, May 18.

Von Ehwegen, a veteran of World War II, received his diploma 93 years after he was forced to drop out of school in 8th grade to help his dad on their family farm during the Great Depression.

He never got the chance to attend high school. "“It was gone. That part of my life, it was out,” Von Ehwegen told KTIV News 4.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Years later, he served in the United States Army during World War II from 1942-1945. Following his military duty, he owned a successful appliance store with his wife.

But earning his high school diploma was something he always missed, something his friends and family knew. Recently, they rallied around him and reached out to East Sac County High School.

"I didn’t hardly think that it would ever, ever, ever happen. Never happen to me anyway. And it was just wonderful the way it turned out," Von Ehwegen told KTIV News 4. "That’s quite an honor. I’ve never been honored like that before."

During the ceremony, Von Ehwegen was presented with his honorary diploma, and received a standing ovation. He also posed with his fellow Class of 2025 graduates.

"I was always kind, worked hard, and just enjoyed the life that I could. And it worked out just beautiful. Probably wasn’t as nice as going to high school and getting a diploma. But look what I got here," he told the news outlet.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

In another interview with SiouxCity Journal, he shared that the news he would be graduating came as a total surprise. And when he found out he would be recognized, he said, "Oh my God!" before agreeing to be honored.

Von Ehwegen's friend Steve Irwin helped lead the charge to get him the honorary diploma. "One thing led to another, and the school agreed to do an honorary diploma. So, I called back and and asked him if he thought that would be a good idea. And he kind of hemmed and hawed for about a half a second and said, sure, that sounds like a really good idea,” Irwin told FOX 17.

graduation, graduate, high school, high school graduation, diplomaJennifer Love Hewitt Graduation GIFGiphy

Von Ehwegen has had an incredible life. He told The Messenger that he was born on Aug. 21, 1917. He recalled life growing up as "hard work" and "long hours," noting that he rode a pony eight miles to attend a Lutheran school. But when things got more difficult for his family during the Great Depression, his dad approached him about dropping out of school.

"He says, ‘Bud, I can’t send you to high school this year because I can’t afford a hired man.’ That was in ’33," Ehwegen told the publication. "‘And you have to stay home and help me with the farm.'"

Through it all, he persevered. Congrats, Mr. Von Ehwegen!

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