Kansas Snapshots by Gloria Freeland - Oct. 26, 2012

A "Soap" as a sleep aid

About three weeks ago, I awoke aching from head to toe with a slight fever. I had spent the day before either in bed or in the bathroom. Even though it turned out to be nothing more than a 48-hour intestinal bug, it felt as if the proverbial truck had hit me.

I'm one of those people who likes to be pampered when I'm ill. But with the girls out of the house and busy with school and husband Art still in Wisconsin, the only tender loving care I was going to get was what I provided myself.

I knew I was on the road to recovery, but I had no appetite for moving much farther than my cozy recliner. Normally not one to sit idle, I surrounded the chair with comfort items so everything was within an arm's length. A glass of water and a box of tissues were perched on a nearby table. Plenty of magazines and newspapers sat on the floor nearby. My cell phone was on one arm of the chair and the TV remote on the other. After fixing myself a piece of toast with raspberry jam, I grabbed a blanket, settled into the chair, pulled the lever to lift my feet and tucked the blanket under my chin.

"Now what?" I thought after finishing the piece of toast. My hurting head didn't make reading sound very appealing. I was in one of those states when further sleeping didn't sound inviting, but I had consumed what little energy I had.

"Maybe the midday news?" I thought.

But when I turned on the TV, "The Young and the Restless" was on.

My dorm friends and I used to be hooked on that soap opera during my student days at K-State. My parents had been avid fans of "As the World Turns" when I was growing up. Sister Gaila and her girls don't miss an episode of "The Bold and the Beautiful" when they're in Kansas in the summer.

I was surprised to see some of the actors that were on "The Young and the Restless" in the 1970s are still on, but they are no longer so young and probably now more prone to restless leg syndrome than the kind of restlessness the show's name brings to mind. Most were younger and I didn't recognize them.

I watched briefly, but didn't have a clue what was going on and who was connected with whom. So I reached for the newspaper, hoping "The Manhattan Mercury's" "Soap Update" would be helpful.

"Sharon tries to explain her actions to Noah just as the police arrive to arrest her. Victor tells Nikki that Sharon deserves to be behind bars while Nikki receives the final divorce papers from Jack. After they share a kiss and Nikki heads upstairs, Victor sneaks a look at an engagement ring. Trying desperately to help Paul, Eden undergoes more hypnosis to no avail. Paul finds Ricky's knife in an alley, but lab tests show the knife has been wiped clean of any prints. Meanwhile, Tucker angrily confronts Genevieve for not saying anything about Victor's return and kicks her out ... Danny confronts Phyllis about the hit and run, but she denies running down Christine and Paul."

That made my head ache even more!

The soap's characters are all glamorous, sexy and rich, but I am sure glad my life isn't as dramatic as theirs. After reading about their problems, my 48-hour bug seemed downright trivial.

And that nap that wasn't all that appealing a few minutes before? It was beginning to sound better and better!

Comments? [email protected].
Earlier columns from 2012 may be found at: 2012 Index.
Links to previous years are on the home page: Home