Peace never reigns for very long in Salem, the fictitious setting of “Days of Our Lives,” a soap opera that has reigned supreme for forty-five years now. I am not what you could call a “soap opera fan,” except for this particular saga that has caught my attention for years now, whenever I was not “working out” for a living. Several times per week, I like to watch at least a partial episode to catch up on what’s new. Lately, the show, a truly American genre, has been exciting.
You see, the beautiful, talented Chloe and her doctor husband were basking in the fact that they have a new son, Parker. Half of Salem knows the kid does not belong to Daniel but they were all keeping quiet. That is until a loudmouth family member was fighting with her mother, the woman who switched the paternity results at the hospital. The two of them happened to be in the church entrance way, discussing the matter, when lo and behold, the doors swung open, and the entire family congregation learned the truth, then and there, just after Parker’s baptism.
Now, some people would dismiss soap operas as works of the devil or evil shows to be avoided at all costs. I don’t see them that way. Eventually, the evildoers get their comeupance due to the fact that one can fool some of the people, some of the time, but not all of the people, all of the time. I like the concept.
I am waiting for the evil prison warden to be caught who has been killing off young, healthy women prisoners who go to the Infirmary with a hangnail (okay, an exaggeration) and never recover. She is trafficking in body parts with a doctor at the local hospital who mysteriously is coming up with just the right body part needed at critical times. Of course, the warden was also attempting to “shut-up” Hope Brady, the police commissioner’s wife who went to prison for attempting to murder him. He busted her out of prison and now the two of them are on the lam. The person who blabbed the truth in church (Bo Brady’s mother) had a stroke and is in the hospital. Will he come out of hiding to try to see his mother one last time?
One good thing about watching this soap opera is it makes my blood boil which is a good thing in this freezing climate. When I am enraged at the injustices I see, Jim gently reminds me, “Pat, calm down! These are not real people. You know that, right?” Well, of course, but just as he enjoys science fiction, I rather like escaping into the world of Salem, periodically, a town where differences will never be resolved, perpetual problems exist due to human frailty, and a town where, just like in real families, people hold grudges forever and seek revenge. It’s all highly amusing and well done, if I must say so.
Pat
