I bet it's the beginning of the end....

Friday marked the end of something significant in my life. It brought what was the last episode of The Guiding Light. Now I will have to admit I really haven't watched much in the last few years. The new format that they chose to try to save themselves was just too weird for me, but more than once in my life soaps have meant a lot to me. I remember as a child watching As The World Turns and Guiding Light while my sainted grandmother (Nana) would do her weekly ironing. She would be hard pressed to admitting that she followed her stories as she called them. I then followed both of those stories through the years to keep up to date so that I could still talk about them with her.

Through the years I remember crossing the network boarders to be able to be part of the most interesting and popular story lines. I followed ABC's All My Children during the Tad/Liza--Greg/Jenny era. I followed NBC's Days of Our Lives during the Patch/Kayla --Bo/Hope era because that was what was being watched in the lounges of the numerous Universities I attended. But I always came back to CBS to follow Betsy/Frank/Craig on As the World Turns and Kelly/Morgan/Nola and then Phillip/Beth--Rick/Mindy on Guiding Light. I also found myself back in Springfield hoping that the new romantic triangle would intrigue me or that the old characters would give me a sense of nostalgia. But today they say "Good Bye" to the new and so many of the old. I just feel like this is probably the beginning of the end of Soap Operas that we knew of the past. That is probably a good thing seeing that they really have no redeeming value whatsoever but even so I find it sad and nostalgic.

So as I think of the years gone by I remember how many big stars have come out of the casts of Soap Operas and I wonder what other genre will aid those actors and actresses in honing their crafts. Where will they find the all-American Meg Ryans, the footloose Kevin Bacons, the adorable Marisa Tomeis and the countless others that now may never have a break out moment? I'm sure they will be welcome on some reality show or another.

So as I say good bye to Sprinfield, the Bauers, the Spaudlings, the Coopers, the Lewis' and all the other families that have come and gone from The Guiding Light through the years. I will find it a little disconcerting that I will not be able to turn on my Story to just keep up and touch base with those families that have been part of my life for as long as I can remember, but I'm sure my life will go on but as of Friday something will not be the same as before. Thanks for a great 72 year run-- 35 or so which were important in the story of my life.