Dear Universe,
I’m a fan of soap operas and I am not ashamed to admit it (on my anonymous blog!) Ever since I was a child, I grew up knowing how many Emmy’s Susan Lucci was nominated for (21) and I was watching that fateful moment when she finally won in 1999 for her role as the unforgettable Erika Kane on All My Children..
I remember when Robin and Stone fell in love on General Hospital. I cried with Robin the moment Stone passed away from AIDS. The show was ahead if its time. And the Jax/Sonny/Brenda love triangle? Still gets to me!
This past year was General Hospital’s 50th Anniversary! I have to say the writers have pulled out all the stops and have really made the show worth watching. And when SoapNet aired a 50 hour GH marathon, I may or may not have watched/DVR’d most of it. While I am away I stay on top of things by reading the online recaps. I’d rather be watching, but beggars can’t be choosers!
I even dreamed of being a writer for a soap opera… once upon a time.
Anyway! The reason I thought of this is because England has soaps too. It’s the first time I’ve caught a glimpse of the daytime TV here.
Turns out? Love is just as hard in England. In one episode I saw a screaming match, tears galore, a marriage called off, all with the backdrop of dramatic music. It was no GH, but again, beggars can’t be choosers!
It reminded me of a date I witnessed the other night. Turns out? Real life love is just as hard, for the young and the restless, wherever you are.
As my cousin and I sat a table at a nearby pub, a man sat down at the table right next to us. He complained to the waitress that he didn’t like the sun hitting his back, but that was the only free table when he arrived. So when his blind date showed up a few minutes later, he was already stewing. I knew it was a blind date because they started with the awkward stare/nice to meet you as he commented she wasn’t wearing pink as she said she would be (she opted for a deeper shade, closer to red).
From there, the night took a downward spiral. The gentleman did not stop talking. Here and there I caught bits of his monologue and in my mind, they were pretty heavy duty for a first date! Before their food even came, he had divulged all about his brother’s upcoming divorce, about his grandmother’s three cancers/death, about his last job, current job and hopefully future job, about some traumatic injury/revolutionary surgery he underwent… At this, his date, who had been so polite the entire time, cut him off and kindly asked to put the surgery details on hold so she could eat her dinner which had finally arrived moments earlier. The man was miffed, saying, “The story is almost over!” She stood her ground and politely asked again for him to wait. I wanted to high five her!
I had to order a second round of Pimms to get through our dinner and I questioned the woman’s brave choice for only sipping water.
By the end of the night I came to realization. Sometimes it really isn’t all about location, location, location. Some things, like affairs of the heart—fictional and otherwise—are universal. All we can do, is do our best, all the days of our lives.
Thanks for the reminder that the grass isn’t always greener—not even as the world turns across the pond.
With Gratitude,
A
