Morgan's Musings: My Stories: How I became addicted to Soap Operas

One of the joys of being a kid is the "sick day". Unless you are one of those honor roll kids who never missed a day of school and probably went on to become a rocket scientist... If that is you than good for you, but I believe any child who didn't take a few fake "sick days" growing up really cheated themselves out of a good time! All the joys of lying in bed, eating junk food, and watching lots and lots of TV. More TV then is recommended to be sure. "Golden Girl" marathons and cooking shows. Game shows and morning talk TV.

My personal favorite was The Price Is Right. I loved that show so much! It would be the event that marked the arrival of my sick day. Bob Barker was like an old friend who I would play hookey with. After Price Is Right ended I'd always fix something awful for lunch. Instant soup or tuna fish. Something a kid with limited cooking skills and limited interest in cooking could whip up. This would also usually be the time the guilt of skipping school would set in. Thinking of all the homework I'd have to make up and feeling annoyed that I'd have to act "sick" all evening so as to keep the ruse alive for my parents and brother.

After lunch was always more tricky. Around the age of 10 or so however I stumbled onto an episode of "Days of Our Lives" after the news. It was exciting! Lots of action and intrigue. Part of me knew I wasn't supposed to watch soap operas as a 10 year old boy but I was hooked! People were always dying or being kidnapped. There were interesting characters and evil villains. Even some naughty stuff that felt very daring to be watching at 10 and home alone.

this is usually how the "sex scenes would end

Needless to say I became a DAYS addict! I kept my obsession private at first. I'd only watch when I was home sick or on an off day at school. I lived for Summer break when I could watch casually as long as no one else was around. This worked for a bit but I found myself frustrated when I had to go to school and would miss out on some plot twist or cliff hanger. I finally broke down and told my family of my newfound obsession. Needless to say after that the "auto-record" on my VCR got a lot of use and I destroyed more than a few VHS tapes by recording DAYS episodes over and over. I wanted to save them all. I didn't realize then that soaps are pretty disposable. What is happening now will probably have no bearing on what is happening in a year.

I've followed a few other shows through the years but Days of Our Lives is MY show. I think most people who watch soaps have a favorite and DAYS is mine. I loved the goody-two shoes Horton family and the rough around the edges Brady clan. The evil Demira's and the conflicted Kiriakis brood. When I first started watching, my favorite characters were Jack Deveroux and Jennifer Horton. Jen was a smart and innocent news reporter and Jack was more of a bumbling jerk. Their romance drew me in and kept me hooked at the beginning. From there I learned to love (or hate) the other residents of Salem. I watched Sami Brady grow up about the same rate I was into a strong woman. I watched Kate Roberts live the sophisticated high life and meddle in the lives of all her children. I watched so many of the kids on the show age at a rapidly accelerated rate. Watched dull but lovely main heroine Marlena Evans be posessed, kidnapped, brainwashed and killed several times.

I continued to watch fairly regularly until the end of high school. After that I moved out and somehow lost track of DAYS. Most TV in fact. Once you are free from school a "sick day" is whenever you want it to be so some of the shows you loved aren't as special anymore.

I rediscovered DAYS a few years back when interest in the show was waning in general. All of the grocery store soap magazines were in fits over "The Salem Stalker" who was killing off some of the shows biggest stars! It was awful/wonderful at the same time. Who was the stalker? Who would be the next victim? The show killed of my beloved Jack Deveroux as well as 80-something show mainstay Alice Horton in a shocking scene. The killer turned out to be Marlena Evans (having been brainwashed by a Dimera) and sent on a rampage.

In a wonderfully well orchestrated twist every character the show had killed off came back from the dead all at once and were found alive living on a deserted island. It was a silly twist but I was so glad they were alive! I became an avid viewer again. Once it was established that all of the shows characters were alive and well it became rather silly. Most soap stories that go on too long do. However ever since then I have been back to my show. My stories!!!