So, it ends. And I am feeling a bit moony about it, frankly. And then I’m feeling a bit foolish about feeling maudlin over the ending of a soap opera I haven’t watched in years. In fact, although I was home sick from work twice this week, sitting on the couch at 2:00, it never occurred to me to turn on One Life to Live, instead dozing in and out through the offerings on the food network.

In January, the lives of the people of Llanview, Pennsylvania will go on, but we will be unable to watch them unfold.

Top Row: Asa and Alex (remember their wedding? she was carried in on a litter!); nutty Karen Wolek, Jake Harrison and Megan Gordon (her sad death…available on youtube); David Rinaldi (the pianist!) and Dorian Lord.
Second Row: Bo and Nora Buchanan; Max Holden; Tina Lord; Renee Buchanan; Carlo Hesser.
Third Row: Clint, Asa and Cordero Buchanan in Buchanan City; Asa and Becky Lee; Viki Lord; Marco Dane; Larry Wolek.
Fourth Row: Jenny Wolek; David Vickers and Dorian; Gabrielle Medina; Rafe Garretson;  Bo Buchanan.

What does it say when I can remember several incarnations of theme songs? The feeling, upon hearing that music at precisely 2:00pm, and knowing the world would stop for one hour while we watched, entranced. If you’re interested, there are some great compilations of the various opening sequences on youtube. I sat and watched them, over and over this morning.

I come by the soap opera watching as a family tendency. My mother and Grandma would catch the soaps when they were shorter in length (half an hour!). I believe they watched One Life to Live from the very beginning. Before I entered school, it seemed that life at home revolved around OLTL. Housework and chores were done before, or held until after the closing credits.

The summer seasons were the best. Remember Buchanan City? Eterna? Of course you do! And didn’t you love the weddings? Certainly there were a lot of weddings. The central characters, like in most soap operas, had many, many marriages.

In the end, even though OLTL had more than 2.5 million viewers the week of March 28, 2011, it wasn’t enough to keep the soap going. Executives say it’s cheaper to produce other types of shows, and perhaps today’s fast-paced society just isn’t the place for a long-term television commitment. Now I have nowhere to go when it looks like the rain won’t end.