Good morning everyone!! 
Before I get back to recaps of the series, I’d like to take a minute to put the spotlight on one of my favorite neighbors, Karen Cluskey and the woman who plays her. She’s been there pretty much from the beginning and has slowly taken on a more prominent role. Once no more than a cranky neighbor that Lynette hated, she’s now her babysitter and a good friend to her and the Scavo family.
One of the best things to me about the character is the fact she’s a straight-shooter. She says exactly what’s on her mind and isn’t afraid of anyone. From defending the Scavo kids from a “kidnapper” to helping Lynette scatter Ida Greenberg’s ashes, she has some of the cooler scenes of the neighbors. While she is a bit of a “hard” type, she has shown quite a few times over the years that she’s also got a vulnerable and human side. One of those moments was when she begged Lynette to come with her because she was scared to go to the hospital alone. Another was when she revealed to the Scavo kids her son had died at a very young age. You could see the sadness and a longing for the past in her eyes during that one, even though she tried not to show anything.
One of her odder moments came in Season 3. It was during the episodes “Liaisons” and “God, that’s Good”. In these episodes, Ida Greenberg and Parker Scavo find the dead body of her husband in the freezer. Turns out, she came home one day several years ago to find he had passed suddenly. Scared of losing her home and everything she’s got after finding out his first wife would get his pension, she hides his body so the company thinks he’s alive and she can keep collecting the checks. Talk about desperation!
As for the woman who plays her, Kathryn Joosten herself seems like quite the lady. Once a psychiatric nurse, she later married and had two children. Sadly, they ended up divorcing due to her husband’s drinking problem and Kathryn had to figure out what to do with herself. She took a chance of rekindling her childhood love of acting during her 40s and the rest is history. She has guested on many series, including Buffy, the X-Files and Joan of Arcadia. She is also a lung cancer survivor and has won an Emmy for her part on Housewives. Given all this, I think it’s safe to say she’s just as spunky and determined as the character she plays. Now that they’re shooting again, it shouldn’t be long before all you spoiler readers out there find out what happened to her character. Me? I think I’ll just wait and be surprised.
Well, I’m out of here for now… stay tuned for those recaps I’ll be starting up again tomorrow. I leave you guys with some great McCluskey quotes. Enjoy!!
Lynette: “Are you sure you didn’t misplace it? No offense, but you’re getting up there in the years.”
Mrs. McCluskey: “No offense, but you should be sterilised.”
Lynette: “Let me tell you something. Half of life is obligations. You don’t want to go to your husband’s company Christmas party, but you do. You don’t want to sell candy so your kid’s band can buy piccolos, but you do it. You attend your third cousin’s wedding. You pick up the dry cleaning. That’s life. It’s obligations. And you are now my obligation, so tomorrow morning, I’ll pick you up, and we’ll go to the pharmacy.”
Mrs. McClusky: “Gee, I’m touched by your outpouring of compassion.”
“Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds,
that blow.
I am the diamond glimpse of snow.
I am the sunlight on amber waves of grain
I am the gentle autumns rain.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there. I did not die. “
