I'm Gonna Cry. And I'm Not Ashamed!

Today is D-Day for millions of us. For years we have had been stereotyped as "lazy", "bon-bon eaters", "ass sitters".

When in reality, we were only escaping reality for an hour Monday through Friday. To join families that were, while imaginary, still like us in so many ways. And they tackled some of the very same problems that happen in everyday life.

After today, they will no longer be joining us in fantasy-land. Some of us have been watching since we were children. And some of our parents were still "kids" themselves when it first aired.

Today, we will say our final good-byes to the Mannings, the Buchanans, the Evans clan and to One Life To Live.

For 43 years, Viki, Asa, Dorian, the Woleks and a host of other characters in it's over-four-decades run came on to our TV screens. They made us laugh. They made us cry. Sometimes, they made us angry, too. But for an hour, their world was my world, and vice versa.

One Life To Live, as well as All My Children were what I used to escape my everyday life. Be it at it's regular time, or from my recording it on VHS tape to watch during the weekend.

It gave me a "normalcy" in a world that for me, was completely turned upside down due to the passing of my mother in 1989. During the summer, with exception to an episode here and there due to trips and whatnot, I watched religiously every single day. From 2-3 PM, Monday through Friday. Even my Nana got in to them. Mainly AMC. But it was something BOTH of us could relate to and talk about.

Since day one, I have always been a Bo Buchanan fan. Not so much a Bo and Nora fan, per say. And in all honesty, I liked the pairing of him and Paige the best (the second Paige of the three actresses that portrayed the character). Poor Bo. He's been through SO very much. And SO many loves and marriages. But all in all, he had ALWAYS remained true to himself and to those around him. Especially his "Pa", Asa Buchanan.

I wasn't around for the beginning of OLTL. But I am here for it's end. But like many other fans, it will ALWAYS be in my heart, in my memory and a topic I'll talk about from time to time.

For it may be a show to some people. But for myself, and oh so many others, it was an escape, and a place in time of Television where you could INDEED relate to someone, no matter who the character was.

Art imitates life. OLTL Creator, Agnes Nixon speaking of fake Soap, "Fraternity Row", while in reality, speaking of her baby, "One Life To Live"...




The embedding is disabled for the next one that I wanted to show you, but you can view it by clicking on THIS LINK (Viki's Voice-Over: "Soap Opera's Are About Families"). Again, in reality, Viki's portrayer, Erika Slezak, is speaking about OLTL and how us soap fans view our shows.

Clint Buchanan's revelation about "family" always being there, no matter what, can be seen under THIS LINK. As is watching Rex, Gigi, and Shane Balsam leave for England so that Shane can attend a prestigious Art School.

In 2007, Asa Buchanan's portrayer, Phil Carey had passed away. With the news of his death in real life, the show killed off Asa as well. He took no crap. Not on the show, and not in real life. A tribute video...




Also, the first "Clint Buchanan", actor Clint Richie had passed away after a "routine" surgical procedure. His tribute..




One Life To Live opening credits throughout the years of the show's run...




Thank you, Agnes Nixon, for creating a place for us that needed a helping hand in addressing problems of the world, and bringing awareness to them, and even a means to find how to help.

Thank you for giving me a place to call "home" in a world of fantasy, that in many ways over the years, mirrored my reality of the world around me. You had given me a place to venture out of my life of sadness, grief and depression, to smile a little bit, and even cry with the characters.

To the wonderful actors past and present, thank you, to EVERY single one of you, for your heart, dedication and LONG hours on sets to bring your fans a quality show and bringing out your characters in such a way, that they were true extensions of yourselves. And for making them BELIEVABLE, as well as relate-able.

To my fellow fans, I want to say thank you to you all as well. We have been able to give one another some WONDERFUL conversations. And even some civil arguments (LOL!).

But all in all, I will truly miss talking with some of my friends about what just happened to Clint, or Jessica. Or talk about how goofy David Vickers is being. Or how Todd Manning again has pulled a fast one and gotten away with something that in the real world, would have him locked up so fast, that your head would spin.

Thank you One Life To Live, because you have given SO much to us in your 43 years. I can't wait to see you all in future acting endeavors. But I will truly and honestly miss you all coming on to my Television screen from 2:00 til 3.

This May Piss You People Off.

I love my ABC Daytime. A LOT. I don't want to see "All My Children" and "One Life To Live" go off the air. It's two hours of my day, if I'm home that is, to sit and have TV time for ME. Not a time to argue over who gets what channel. MY time.

I'd love to see them spared and kept on ABC, or even have them moved to another network. I don't want to see Tad "the cad" Martin, or Bo (the "do gooder") Buchanan leave my life. But, that's what it is..Life.

So many fans are pouring their hearts and souls in to saving these two DECADES-long-running soap operas. And I say FIGHT!

But...

I think it's sad that people are putting MORE of their time, energy, efforts, hearts, souls and even MONEY in to "Save Our Soaps" protests, Tweets and blog/FaceBook postings.

Why? Because HELLO! *REAL* life is happening all around you, people. In the last almost 72 hours, OVER 200 people in three states have been killed. Their homes destroyed. Entire towns demolished.

States of Emergency are being phoned in. People are being rescued, or sadddr yet, "recovered" from the rubble which was once their home or business.

Where are all of you "soap-ers" now? I don't see you Tweeting or adding posts to your blogs or other sites in support of REAL LIFE people who REALLY need YOUR help.

I don't see you "Re-Tweeting" news reports, weather reports. All you *seem to* care about is saving television shows that just lost another about 150 of 200 fans, thanks to ravaging and KILLER storms.

Read the following captions from a CNN article, where yes, now even MY state has reported casualties... (From Breaking News via CNN)

"Entire neighborhoods were leveled and hundreds of thousands of people were without power. As of 4 a.m. Thursday, Alabama Power said 363,511 customers were without power, and as of 8 a.m. Georgia Power said 52,000 customers were without power. Bentley estimated as many as half a million to a million people were without power statewide."

""This could be one of the most devastating tornado outbreaks in the nation's history by the time it's over," CNN Meteorologist Sean Morris said."

"President Barack Obama announced late Wednesday he had approved Bentley's request for emergency federal assistance, including search and rescue support."

"While we may not know the extent of the damage for days, we will continue to monitor these severe storms across the country and stand ready to continue to help the people of Alabama and all citizens affected by these storms," Obama said in a statement."

""It literally obliterated blocks and blocks of the city," Maddox said. He told CNN Thursday morning the devastation was "unparalleled ... the city's infrastructure has been absolutely decimated.""

Get the idea now? I suggest you read the article in its entirety and get the full view of this tragic event. Maybe then, television and soap operas won't be AS important. Real people with REAL problems will open your eyes and give you a new perspective on what is REALLY important...

For me, it's not about television shows.

Mama Claws Got Sharpened This Morning...

As many of you know, ABC's Executive, Brian (asshole) Frons not only is removing "All My Children" off of it's ABC Daytime lineup, but also (underhandedly) canceled "One Life To Live" as well. All with bogus "research" and "excuses" as to why. And worse yet, the piece of shit did it via a WEB CAM! He was too chickenshit to do it with the casts and crews of the shows face-to-face.

Now, I am as angry, upset, hurt and bewildered as the next fan of these two WONDERFUL and endearing shows. I'm all for not buying anymore Disney movies or other items of the company's. And for the time being, I refuse to watch anything but my local news or the Soap Operas on ABC.

But one thing that I flat out REFUSE to do is punish MY kids. I WILL let them keep watch their shows on the Disney Channel. Especially the 6 year old. She know NO better and has NO understanding of what is going on.

How dare a COMPLETE STRANGER tell me what I should or should NOT let MY kids watch in MY home where the bills are paid by ME and/or my husband.

While I can get that people are mad and are worried, that gives NO ONE the "right" to tell another person, let alone a complete STRANGER on the internet (be it Twitter, FaceBook, MySpace, Blogger or whatever site) what another person should or should not let a kid (that is NOT theirs) to see, listen to or do.

Until you people pay MY bills, you have NO say in what happens in MY home. That is blatantly and utterly rude. I don't tell others what they SHOULD or should NOT do in the PRIVACY of their own home. And so I DEMAND the same respect/courtesy.

If this is the shit that I'm going to have to start dealing with, then you can count me OUT of this "movement". I will stand up and voice my concern, make emails or calls as needed, and refuse to watch or buy whatever items I MYSELF deem fit to do so.

BUT.. No one will be allowed to tell me what my children will "boycott", which is NOTHING. And furthermore it's of NO ONE's concern in regards to my kids as to what they are/aren't "allowed" to view/hear. Not on here, or FaceBook, and not on Twitter (which is where the incident happened).

You all say you want us to ban together and be as one. To save our Soaps. Fine by me. I'm in for that. But if people are going to go to THIS extreme and being THAT cut-throat about the shit, then I'll remove anything that has to do with the boycott/movement and call it a day and hope for the best.

NO ONE goes after my children in this kind of manner. Directly OR through me. At least ALL THREE of them watch channels like Diccovery, History and the like. They LOVE to learn. Not just watch "junk".

Can YOU say that about YOUR kids? Especially when they are only 11, 10 and 6 years old? Things like "Modern Marvels", "How It's Made", "Biography", "Wild America".

Yeah, I didn't think so. So, do us all a favor and shut your pie hole.

Let's Stop AMC & OLTL From Being A Thing Of The Past...

As many of you out there know, as of January of 2012, ABC's long-running Daytime soap opera, "One Life To Live" will be going off the air. And so will their other long-standing soap, "All My Children".

Or will they?

Fans from across the United States, from all walks of life and ages are banding together to say HELL NO, THEY WON'T GO (off the air) to ABC Exec. Brian Frons who was so brave chicken shit to tell these people from their respective shows that at these dates of 2012 to their faces, that they will no longer have jobs, via a damn VIDEO conference.

Now, as of this morning, Hoover Company who's famous for DECADES of vacuum products, has PULLED their ads from ABC Daytime line up. And it now also seems that Excedrin is soon to follow in their footsteps.

Here is a list of companies. Find out their contact info, and even post to their walls on Twitter and/or FaceBook, to tell them that if THEY want to have their customer base, then to help us fight to keep OLTL's and AMC's consumer base, also, and in affect, SAVE THEIR JOBS from Brian (the dumbass) Frons.

Excedrin

Hoover

Disney Company (which has partial ownership of the ABC Channel)

John S. Chen

Sybase Inc.

Sybase, United States Headquarters
...
One Sybase Drive

Dublin, CA 94568

Phone: 1-800-SYBASE5 (792.2735) or 1-925-236-5000

Judith L. Estrin

JLABS, LLC

2455 Augustine Drive

Santa Clara, CA 95054

Phone: 408.490.1000

Fax: 408.562.0080

Steve Jobs

Apple, Inc.

1 Infinite Loop

Cupertino, CA 95014

Phone: 408.996.1010

Fred H. Langhammer

Estee Lauder

767 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10153

Phone: 212-572-4200

Aylwin B. Lewis

Potbelly Sandwich Works

222 Merchandise Mart Plz

23rd Floor

Chicago, IL 60654

Phone: (312) 951-0600

Monica C. Lozano

impreMedia, LLC

700 S. Flower Street, Suite 3000

Los Angeles, CA 90017

Phone: (213) 622-8332

Robert W. Matschullat

The Clorox Company

1221 Broadway

Oakland, CA 94612

Phone: (510) 271-7000

Robert W. Matschullat

Visa Inc.

Visa Inc

900 Metro Center Blvd.

Foster City, CA 94404

Phone: 650-432-3200

Fax: 650-432-7436

There may be more to add to the list at a later time. But this I think is a good start. If you are also a General Hospital fan, you better get on the ball, because if they are THIS underhanded with All My Children and One Life To Live, then very likely, GH can be on the chopping block before you know it.

Also join me over at PROTEST ABC ACROSS AMERICA and let your voice be heard here as well! The companies that support ABC Daytime ARE indeed listening to the fans of AMC and OLTL and are doing something about it.

Parents...Learn From This Show!

No, I'm not joking. And the subject of bullying isn't a joke, either. It's real. It's raw. And today's form of bullying has taken on new ways of cause and effect.

When I was a small child, I was heckled, ridiculed, made the butt of jokes, and even "imitated" because of my trache. Don't forget the name calling and pushing.

But today, with technology advances such as the internet and YouTube, bullying has taken new and (literally) far-reaching forms.

Now kids attack one another on sites such as FaceBook and MySpace, or even Twitter.

Not just in the form of words. But via groups, "like pages", Tweets, videos and other internet means, including in the Blogging world. This is called Cyberbullying.

I am a longtime 'One Life To Live' (ABC) fan. One of the current storylines is centering around a Freshman boy in High School who has life-threatening Asthma. Shane Morasco is at the end of his rope with the bullying and the video of him naked in the school's gym being posted to the internet and "MyFace" (OLTL's version of FaceBook) and ready to end his life just to "make it all stop".

Sadly this is something in regards to bullying that we hear about almost daily in the news media outlet. Be it face-to-face bullying or being bullied on the internet.

Here is the preview of the storyline for this week (April 4th)...



Please, I beg EACH AND EVERY SINGLE PARENT that reads this, TEACH your children about bullying and it's many forms. Teach them what the (possible) repercussions are as the bully and what CAN (and often does) happen to bullying victims.

Both sides lose when it comes to bullying. Some lose their lives. Some have to live with lifelong guilt due to their actions. And families are torn because of the actions of the bully and their target.

No child should suffer abuse from a bully.

And bullies have it within them to change and become better people. But sometimes for that to happen, it comes at a hefty price.

It should NEVER have to be that way.

Yeah. The Secret Is Finally Out.

I guess I can let this secret out. Even though a few "choice" friends may already know. Then again, maybe they don't.

No, it's not about my stalker like fascination with Nicolas Cage. That's already out in the open to the entire world most everyone.

But it is nearly along the same lines. See, I have been watching a Soap Opera of one kind or another since I was about nine years old. I would come in after school, my mom would be sitting there in the living room, watching Days Of Our Lives. Man! That was a great one back in the day (1980's).

After Mom died, I stopped watching Daytime Television (Soaps) for a good two or three years. Then, I started watching All My Children one summer, while off from school.

That show got REALLY good, and the characters were great! Especially three main guys. Edmund Grey. Trevor Dillon. And of course, Tad (The Cad) Martin.

At the same time, I was also getting in to the show One Life To Live. And there was one main character I had been "in to". That was Bo Buchanan.

Now you are probably sitting there, doing the math. Yes, I was an early to late-aged teenager back in the 1990's. And all these guys from AMC and from OLTL are AT LEAST oh, twenty years or more my senior.

And you are probably asking yourself why I didn't go for the teen guys or even the ones in their twenties (at that time).

The answer is simple. They did not appeal to me. Sure, I'm like any other girl. I love a hot, muscular body. But I want the personality, sensitivity and maturity to go with it. And none of those studs youngsters did it for me.

Even now, when I am approaching 34 29 years old, I will take Tad and Bo over Robert Ford and Ryan Lavery any day of the week.

Bo has the good guy quality. He is a hero and a stand-up guy. He is honest and forthright. He loves who he does with everything that he has and shows it.

Tad possesses uninhibited humor, loyalty to his friends and family and is the go-to guy when the chips are down.

If you put the qualities of those two men together, can you imagine the kind of man you could end up having? All I can say is WOW!

My ex-husband (Hayley's father) is sixteen years my senior. And after that train wreck, I decided to not have an "older gentleman" as a husband or a boyfriend again. Been there, done that, got burned.

Now, I am *not* saying that being in a relationship with an older man of more than five or six years than your age is ALWAYS asking for trouble. But I couldn't see myself if something happened (God forbid) to Scott (my current sucker husband) being with an older man like I was with my ex, again.

That is, unless it was Tad Martin or Bo Buchanan.

(*No copyright infringement intended. For entertainment purposes only.*)