Heartwarming / Dirty Laundry: An Alternate 1980s

• As the timeline gets closer to that ill-fated day, commentators have asked Andrew to try and save Judith Barsi (and her mom) ITTL. While the effects of this haven't been revealed yet, having her cast as Ariel Moonbeam Keaton on Family Ties is a step in the right direction.
  Andrew: The interesting thing is that when I went looking for appropriate-age child actors to adopt on to Family Ties in 1985, Judith Barsi was pretty much the only choice.
  • We got confirmation, people.^note Third response. She lives!
• Superintendent James O. Smith deciding to allow Ryan White to return to school, in spite of his AIDS, ITTL.
  • Plus, Ryan lives longer here, just long enough to graduate.^note IOTL: April 8th, 1990. ITTL: June 23, 1990.
    • And it turns out he also lived long enough to guest star on "It's Your Move"'s Very Special Episode on AIDS (along side Nancy Reagan). In fact, the last scene of the episode is of Ryan getting hugged by Matthew Burton, the show's main character.
    • On that note, it's very telling that Mark Crispin Miller outright refuses to say anything bad about this episode.
• October 3, 1982, a story told by an unnamed narrator concerning an Orioles game and how he and his friend, Mike, sneaking in to see it. It's kinda like the timeline's own A Christmas Story (which is rather ironic since things aren't looking hot for it ITTL).
  • It's made even more heartwarming (and a little sad) with September 22, 1984 and how the two of them kept trying and failing to "recreate that one magical game".
    Mike and I still keep up our John Shelby tradition, but I can't help thinking about that Billy Joel song – you know, the one about peaking in high school? "The King and the Queen went back to the green, but you can never go back there again?" I don't think we'll ever be able to recreate that one magical game. But it never hurts to try.
• In a rather interesting way, Kurt Cobain being a comedian instead of a musician. Especially since this came about from following the footsteps of his friend, Bobcat Goldthwait.
  • Plus, there's the implication that Kurt doesn't try to commit suicide ITTL.
• The 1986 "Hell Freezes Over" concert ends on a rather touching note: after doing a "nearly impromptu" public endorsement for Don (since he's up for re-election to the House of Representatives), Glenn Frey decides to squash the claims of "Hotel California" being Satanic by doing it acoustically. Since Don needs to save his voice for his Congress job, Glenn decides to do the vocals himself (at Don's blessing).
  Nobody in that audience — and nobody who followed the reports, or watched clips on the news that went nationwide — could possibly think they were looking at a Satanic ritual, when in fact they were watching a middle-aged TV star and a middle-aged Congressman gently reprise their greatest hit. "Satanic Panic" would rage on elsewhere, but it was as dead as disco in Northeast Texas.
  • It also winds up crossing over into CMOA territory since it wound up netting Don his re-election, beating Edd Hargett 68% to 32%.