Well done, Mr. Ron Swanson!  In tonight's "Ron and Diane" for once, even though it cost us as viewers another look at Ron in corn rows, he made the right choice for himself! He resisted not only Tammy, but also showed Diane just how seriously he takes their relationship by opening up to her about his alter ego, Duke Silver.  

And by the way, it's been far too long since our last look at Duke Silver! I had nearly forgotten about it, which actually made the moment all the more special. Ron is charming, confident, and a gentleman. Fits perfectly with the confident, intelligent, (brunette--phew, not blonde like Leslie--yuck!) Diane.

I love that Diane calls her middle school students hormonal psychopaths, grouping them right in with Tammy. My day job is teaching middle school students and while I wouldn't call them psychopaths, I would say their hormones are certainly raging. 

This show has always been smart about relationships. Even though I thought it was a crazy idea from a series' standpoint to marry April and Andy, it turned out perfectly and they're just as entertaining as they've always been. Parks and Recreation manages to avoid the normal anvil-like romantic pitfalls other sitcoms and dramas appear to fall into. The fact that Leslie and Ron are the opposite sex, have a close relationship, have been single at the same time in the past, and have never had a will-they-won't-they type romance is just a tribute to the intelligence of the writers.

And I love the way Leslie frames her role in Ron's life.  She's his emotional guardian! And we could all use at least one of those in our life.

As fpr the Jerry Dinner money? I would have liked to see a few more of these Jerry moments in flashback. Even though it's mean. I love that Donna ended up agreeing with Ann about it being mean. Donna is such a leader in that motley crew.  As for Ann's standup comedy routine? Sadly Ann's not funny even when she's trying to be purposefully unfunny. I wish I liked Ann more. Please give her funnier lines next year, writers.

Christie Brinkley as Jerry's wife worked out well, especially because she does strongly resemble the actress who plays her daughter in the series. Jerry is the most good-natured in the department, so it's high time he earned some respect from the others. The cash? Completely added bonus. 

Great moments of tonight's episode include: Ann finding out that April is surprisingly weak, the woodworker's memorial segment, in which the woodworkers' coffins that they themselves made,were displayed in a video, Tom's line about gloves making his hands unattractive, and the return of Duke Silver.

Have a smooth, Duke Silver type of holiday! Parks and Recreation returns January 17th.