As I watched today's show, I thought Paul Anthony Stewart and Joie lenz were outstanding! The two of them never fail to deliver. And, I will maintain that there is no Manny without Paul Anthony Stewart and Joie Lenz!!!! Both of them are the reason this couple works.

Now, back to this work in progress concept. My general or rather first impression of Michelle's argument was that it was weak not in that she was willing and determined to help her friends but rather in that she was willing to walk into the lion's den called San Cristobel. It is this desire/stubbornness of Michelle's risktaking that scares the bejeebees out of Danny. He fears anything happening to Michelle as much as she fears anything happening to Danny. That fear may be much stronger for Danny; however, inasmuch as he does see himself as the protector! The fact he has an automatic sixth sense for danger puts Danny in a place of preparing to handle it. Danny's point of view is one of practicality or common sense. No one should put themselves in the middle of a dangerous situation. However, is there ever a point where you feel that you have to?

Everyone, please hear me out on this one. Michelle's stubbornness is no different from her husband's. For argument sake, if Carmen or Pilar were in danger, would Danny refuse to involve himself?? No, he would not. Some might disagree about the Carmen aspect, but for some reason, I do think that Danny would help her, too. Would Michelle force Danny's hand and say not to involve himself? No, she would not, because frankly she knows Danny loves his family, and it would be something he has to do. She understands that about Danny, i.e. the shooting at Casa Santos, the bomb at the Church, Danny choosing to fly Josh to SC, etc. In other words, there may be some things that Michelle does not like, but she realizes that fundamentally she can't change Danny's mind. She knows she has to let him do what he feels he has to do.

Now, I know some might say well, if Michelle, Pilar, Carmen, or Ray were in danger, then it would be different, because they are members of the Santos family: Danny's family. Hence, he would be right in wanting to rish his life for them. Okay, that's fine. Michelle, on the other hand, treats her friends like she does her familly. What I mean is that this young woman cares about people not even in her family circle.

I keep going back to old conversations between Michelle and Drew. Michelle thought more of Drew than Drew thought of herself. Michelle, right or wrong, cared about Drew, of all people at the time, and wanted Drew to think higher of herself. She didn't want Drew to be a rebound for Jesse's residual feelings for her (Michelle). She didn't want Drew to settle, because she wanted Drew to feel she deserved more.

Looking back on that, I kept thinking to myself why would Michelle even think about how Drew feels about herself, when it shouldn't even be Michelle's problem. And, when I thought about that, I realized that if Michelle could think about Drew like that back then, knowing full well how underhanded and backstabbing Drew could be, what would Michelle do if it was a closer friend??

Michelle, the same young lady who designed the AIDS Memorial Garden on top of the hospital, who planted the trees, who organized the fundraiser that would keep it going for the next 6 years, who had a vision of this beautiful, quiet place that family and friends could visit their loved ones they lost, and remember them, is the same woman standing in front of her husband today arguing for the chance to help out her friends, regardless of the danger involved. Granted, Reva's problems are not Michelle's problems, but that's never stopped Michelle from caring before.

To quote Rick, "My sister is more than all these ribbons and these trophies, and she's more than just a very, very bright girl. My sister has an enormous heart that doesn't know when to stop giving." It is precisely this quote that made me stop and reevaluate Michelle's position today. You see. It's easy to say you care about people. But, when you are willing to take the chance to help someone out at the risk of your own well being is something even more rare and special. It's not an everyday occurance. And, in this cynical world, it's downright strange.

Michelle does have an enormous heart, and she doesn't know when to stop giving! If she didn't want to help Reva, then she wouldn't be Michelle BAUER Santos. And, deep down inside Danny, he knows this. And, it is something he absolutely loves/adores about her. It is her heart that lead her to him. It is the same heart that lead her to care about people with AIDS, or Drew's own self-esteem, and loving a man that her family and circle of friends look down on despite who Michelle is and what she has done for them.

Danny's anger is resonating from his fear of losing his wife with this enormous heart. Danny and Michelle are still who they are as individuals, and they won't always see eye to eye. So, they will fight. But, it is this fact that shows that Danny and Michelle are a a work in progress. They are working to see eye to eye even if it doesn't always happen. Sometimes it will, and sometimes it won't. But, the beauty is that they are willing to communicate about their different points of views. They are the ultimate challenge to each other and for each other, thereby making them a masterpiece in my mind.

I know it's easy to attack Michelle's views today, but the more I thought back to who Michelle is inside, I totally understood why she's doing what she's doing. Would I be willing to do the same thing that she's doing? I would like to believe so, but I'm not sure I could/would. I think my fear of what might happen would overshadow my desire to help my friend sad to say. In other words, I'm not sure my heart is as enormous as Michelle's is.

In my opinion, Danny is one lucky man to have a wife who cares as much as she does. It doesn't make her a weak woman in the slightest. As a matter of fact, it makes her stronger than most.

Airpoet