The Story

A sad thing happened over the weekend. Nancy Hughes died. She was 91 years old. Well, let me correct that, Helen Wagner, the actress who played Nancy , died. Her character on the long-running soap opera "As The World Turns" hadn't been killed off yet, just relegated to an occasional party scene or two. Her days as the "tent-pole" character, that steady individual that held story lines together, were long gone. A sad testament to the decline of soap operas into seedy story lines that revolve around the latest sexual affair.

Growing up "The Story" was a common thread that tied together the women of my family. I can remember watching it with my mom, my great-grandmother and my Aunt Cheryl. If you missed an episode, you could always call grandma to catch up on the daily escapades of Bob, Lisa, Kim, Tom, Susan and the rest. We talked about the story at birthday parties. We talked about the story when we went shopping. We talked about the story at almost every family gathering. Heck, I thought those people were part of my family for awhile! As a child I could tell you who Bob was cheating with on Lisa. I knew that Franny was Bob's child with Kim, but not with Lisa. Oh my the sinful lives the people of Oakdale lived. For this little Baptist soul, it was all very scandalous

I think I stopped watching ATWT when I was in high school. I've tried to watch it a couple of times in the past few years but I don't know anyone any more and the story lines don't interest me. My great grandma is gone. Characters have died or moved on and The Story is no longer the same. I don't miss it. It's just a sweet childhood memory that ties me to those I love.