Bunnylou's been feeling under the weather this week. Yesterday she stayed home all day, but refused to entertain the thought she might miss the big Valentine's Day snarf-fest at school. "I will go to school Wednesday, and I don't want to hear another word," she snarled, in a dead-on parody of her mother somebody close to her. And, in fact, this morning she was back to her old self. But it didn't last long - she called me from the school office, tired out and nearly in tears.
We think the fact she deliberately left a party that would have included a mound of candy and sweets rivaled only by the mountain of junk food they scale at their annual Christmas party, was infallible proof she was really sick. Then again, she's ten, and learning how to lead a more nuanced life than ever before. Hmmm.
Anyway, here's us, sprawled on the couch in the late morning, looking for something good to watch on TV. Instead, we accidentally stumble on a soap opera.
Now, I watched this thing religiously back in the 90's, when I worked closing shift at an electronics store. In fact, everyone on our shift watched it, so we'd have something to dish about at work and make the time pass. It was Our Thing.
But looking at it now? Nothing has changed! The characters are exactly the same after thirteen years!
Me: Look, it's Brad! Eww! See that guy, Brad? He's a total jerk. He's slept - er, he's kissed every single woman in Genoa City.
Bunny: Hey, lady! Don't kiss Brad! You don't know where those lips have been!
Me: I'm guessing that's Victoria, Victor and Nikki's daughter. She's gotta be 20 years younger than him! But I guess she was next on the list.
Bunny: I'll be Young. You be Restless.
Me: You be Young and Restless. I'll be Old and Sedate.
Bunny: Okay.
We dished out the hatin' all during the first half, but by the time some girl accidentally discovered that her professor/lover might actually be the town serial killer, we were making plans to record the show every day.
No! Must ... resist! In spite of my joking, I actually won't let her watch a show where people sleep with other people at random every few days.
Oops. At least not as a habit. My bad.
I remember becoming addicted to All My Children during the Summer of 1981. Ah the glory days of Erika, Jesse and Opal's Glamorama. Writing like that simply doesn't come along very often anymore... Sigh.
Jump cut to the future, say about 2013:
Bunny: Brad's still a total studmuffin, mom. I can see why every girl in town's hot for him.
Pam: Umm, there's a real nice Afterschool Special on right now--"My Two Moms and Three Dads"--wanna change the channel?
Bunny: Are you kidding? Brad's about to bag Victoria again!!
Pam: Oy...
(Author's note: when faced with a character response on a deadline, nothing says "woe" better than "oy." Gentiles love it; makes 'em think they're in a Woody Allen flick!)
Posted by: Anthony | February 15, 2007 at 10:10 AM
"As the World Turns" -- one of my life influences. My mom would be watching every day when we came home for lunch (back then, only the kids who came to school on the bus stayed there to eat). Every day. After the show was over, she'd get on the phone to talk to her mother about the day's proceedings. I can still name most of the characters, and I have to confess that years and years later, when the show happened to be on the tube somewhere, it was kind of a thrill to see some of the same actors still grinding it out. I mean, how could they possibly be alive still, let alone dressing themselves, memorizing a script, and doing the show?
Posted by: Dan | February 15, 2007 at 12:49 PM