Mahogany Misfit

I have to admit, reading this article on MSNBC about the possibility of soaps (aka Daytime Dramas) coming to an end has put me into a bit of a panic.

I have a confession to make.

I've been an avid soap watcher for the past 21 years. Yes you read that right...21 years.

It's my "not-so-secret" shame/guilty pleasure to those who know me best.

Every day, I come home from work and catch up on the day's episode of The Young and The Restless via DVR.

Before the invention of DVR, it was the VCR that kept me in the business of soap watching. From high school to college to working a full time job, I've easily gone through hundreds of video tapes filled with hours upon hours of soaps.

It's been a part of my daily life for MOST of my life. Letting go of it now wouldn't feel right. It's so familiar and so routine and I guess in a strange way, it's comforting.

It all began when I was seven.

Both of my parents were working full time, so in the summer when school was out, my little brother (who was about 2) and I would stay with my Great-grandma Daisy during the day while they worked.

I won't say there weren't many children in the neighborhood for me to play with but I will say that I didn't like any of those little fuckers and I refused to play with them.

They always ate dirt, they loved to play with bugs and climb trees and I just wasn't into that kind of thing. I distinctly remember once they made "milkshakes" using muddy water and chocolate milk and they fucking drank it! BLECH! Nasty little fuckers. 

Call me an elitist second grade snob but I looked down on those little hellions and I stayed far away from them!

Instead I would stay in the house with grandma, read children's books, play with my 47 Barbie dolls, and watch TV.

Our routine ran like clock-work. In the mornings she would let me watch Jem and the various other cartoons and kid shows and come afternoon, she would watch the entire lineup of CBS soaps.

Within the first few days of staying with Grandma, I was hooked.

Maybe it was the way the people looked and spoke that attracted me. They were so glamorous and sexy....everyone was filthy rich...I was mesmerized.

I was also fascinated with how passionate my grandmother would get while watching. She would cry when the characters got married, applaud when she approved of something they did, and go into a curse filled rant when something didn't turn out the way she thought it should.

Her elderly friends would sometimes come over to watch with her and their conversations were animated and memorable. One would say something about "Nikki Newman" being a "stripping hussy" and then my grandma would yell out something at the TV telling "Jill Foster Abbott" that she was "sick of her shit" (that was her signature line when someone on the soaps wasn't acting right) and although I was only seven, I was amused and in awe.

I wanted to be a part of the group, so every day I would sit in grandma's lap and watch the drama unfold with them.

Although they watched the entire lineup from 12:30-4:00 or whatever it was, my seven-year-old attention span hadn't fully developed the stamina required for that so after first two, Y&R and "The Bold and The Beautiful", I was ready to move on. I would go read my books on the front stoop or play with barbies.

It was the first summer I really remember and when it was over, I was devastated!

I remember saying goodbye to my grandma on the last day of summer break and crying huge crocodile tears to my mom about how I didn't want to go to school because I would miss "The Restless" (that's what I called it).

I was so annoyingly precocious.

It was high comedy for my mom I'm sure.

Every summer after that for the next several years, I would pick up where I left off at grandma's house. Watching my two favorite soaps snuggled up along side her.

During one school year, when my family finally got on the VCR band-wagon in the late 80's, my mother, who was also a CBS soap fan (also thanks to Grandma Daisy), began recording the soaps daily and we would watch them together when we came home from work and school respectively.

The fact is, these soaps made my bond with my grandmother and my mother stronger.

My memories of the storyline's are wonderfully nostalgic...Sheila Carter stealing Lauren Fenmore's baby, Jack Abbott having an affair with his dad's wife and someone producing photos to blackmail him, Ashley Abbott aborting Victor's baby, Danny Romalotti and Cricket Blair's wedding, Cricket being date raped by Derek, Drucilla's NyQuil induced affair with Malcolm, Phyllis running down Paul with her car, Phyllis putting an octopus in Paul and Christine's bed while they were on their honeymoon, Victor and Nikki's 17 weddings, and the era of the African American characters: Neil, Drucilla, Olivia, Nathan, and Malcolm.

Another memorable favorite was the storyline of Diane Jenkins trying to steal Victor's sperm but Nikki stealing it from Diane and the Ashley stealing it from Nikki! And the boardroom cat fight between Nikki and Diane!

Oh the rapture.

Now, I was a fan of The Bold and The Beautiful up until about 5 years ago, but I stopped watching because of Brooke Logan Forrester Jones Forrester Marone's repeated affairs and marriages with her ex husband's two sons and her daughters husband. Yeah she fucked the dad and his two sons (along with marrying them all) and then her daughter's husband. I gave that mess up.

It was the lesser watched step-child of Y&R anyway.

For me and Grandma Daisy, nothing held a candle to our Y&R.

The Young and The Restless has been on the air since 1973. It has been number 1 in the ratings since December 1988. It has been the top-rated soap in the African-American demographic since 1991.

Y&R has been the one, enduring pop culture constant in my life since childhood. Sentimentality prevents me from letting it go.

See, when my Grandma Daisy passed away at age 77 five years ago, the one thing that helped my grief was watching Y&R and remembering every moment we had together watching the show. I know that might sound completely ridiculous to some people but this show bonded us more than anything.

When I watch Y&R, I think of her. Out of all the soaps she watched, it was her favorite...and now it's mine.

I find it funny that soap watching is seemingly a dated past time that no one wants to admit indulging in nowadays. People will admit to watching utter crap like "90210 the next generation" and "Gossip Girl" but no one wants to cop to being a daytime soap watcher or even become one these days. That's why they struggle I guess. And why according to MSNBC, the average viewing age of soaps is 60!

Ah well. My soap has a rich history and legacy...with actors in every age range, some who have been on the show since it's debut 35 years ago. I really have no intention to stop being a dedicated viewer. Y&R will probably be a part of my life for as long as it runs...be it the next 10 years or the next 50. If I live to see age 77 and it's still on, I'll be watching. I don't care what anyone else thinks.

Cause I know my Grandma Daisy would appove.