Not so Guilty Pleasure

I love soap operas ... all kinds. I am not in any way ashamed to admit it. LOVE SOAP OPERAS -- in the daytime, at night, in other languages, etc.

On the one hand, they say "family," to me.  At my house, we called them The Stories, and we were all intimately involved in the lives of those on the shows. 

On the other hand, they can be super entertaining and help you get your mind off your own troubles.

In my grief, first from my brother's loss, and now from my sister's loss,  I have sought refuge in the familiar of these stories.  You can go there and be outraged at the ridiculousness, the same old tired story that the people on the stories fall for ... and you can be comforted with what you know will be true in the twists and turns of their lives. 

Their suffering and their heartaches are predictable but no less consequential.  Sometimes these pretend and reliable emotions are the only ones I can handle right now.

How did I get to this story ... well, Jeanne Cooper died on May 8th.  That was my brother's birthday, and my nephew's birthday, and I had my parents here... and somehow I missed it.  I read at least the headlines of about five newspapers daily, and I missed it.  Y & R is not my favorite, but it is almost all we have left of CBS daytime, and Jeanne Cooper and her character were not my favorites; yet, I have kept up with her health quite well for the past few years... somehow knowing when she was too ill to be in the storyline even though I wasn't even watching the show.

About a week after she died, I caught something on the internet about her death, and I actually felt guilty for having missed the immediate notices of her passing.  I know it's silly ... but I did.  Then I read that Y & R and CBS were going to do a show for her.

This is the proper way to say goodbye to a person who has been with viewers for over 40 years.  I am so pleased that the producers saw fit to honor Jeanne Cooper in this way.  She deserves it, but so do the fans that have supported the show for years.  As one of the remaining daytime soaps, I am sure it is hard to gauge how audiences and advertisers will react to a break in the story line.  But this was a winner.

Even if you don't like soap operas, have never watched Y & R or any other soap opera, don't know Ms. Cooper's story, her character's storyline (etc.), you should take a look at the tribute they did for her.

I know a little too much about the desire to honor someone's life and the difficulty of putting something together quickly while in the tumult of the emotions.  They really did a beautiful job.

May she rest in peace and have a tequila party with my sister and brother.